The Rebound Effect
by Swordchucks
Summary: Crystal Tokyo is a wonderful place to live, but it is also wonderfully boring for an immortal. A freak accident sends the Senshi of Crystal Tokyo on a journey they aren't likely to forget.
1. Somewhere in Space and Time

The Rebound Effect   
A Sailor Moon fanfic  
by Tim Williams - fireangel37@yahoo.com or ffml_tim@yahoo.com  
  
Disclaimer goes here. (Sailor Moon and Tenchi Muyo! at some point)  
  
Author's notes: One quick note. //text// implies thoughts. It's   
certainly more distinctive than ', so I stuck with my original formula.  
Chapter 1  
Somewhere in Space and Time  
Lady Mercury watched intently as the data glyphs streamed across her  
terminal at a pace impossible for most people to follow. It wasn't very  
often that one got to witness something as spectacular as the formation  
of a black hole, but that was exactly what was being displayed on the  
monitor in pulsating greens and yellows.  
  
Few other events would warrant a personal viewing by a scientist of her  
status, but here she was, drifting through space halfway across the  
galaxy from her home in her tiny observation vessel, the Hermes.  
  
The process was well underway by the time they had come out of warp, and  
the apex was fast approaching.  
  
"Ma'am, my terminal is showing that we just lost contact with Earth  
Central," her co-pilot interjected, his voice a startling contrast to  
the soft humming and buzzing of monitoring equipment. He was on loan to  
her from the Interstellar Naval Academy and took his job a little more  
seriously than she may have liked, though he was well trained and always  
professional.  
  
"It's probably due to the rapid flux of the gravitational field," she  
replied distractedly, her eyes still focused on the incoming data from  
the collapsing star. A faint sense of foreboding tickled the back of  
her mind, "But it would be best if you attempt to reestablish contact."  
  
The sound of rapid typing seemed to fill the small craft's control  
chamber, though Mercury's sense of wrongness continued to grow.  
  
"Ma'am, no luck," the man said nervously. "I can't get a link to  
anything within the Solar system. And not only that, but I've also lost  
contact with the base on Apollo III."  
  
Mercury sighed, brushing off the nervousness that she was starting to  
feel. Incidents like this weren't unheard of near cosmic phenomena, but  
knowing that didn't sooth her nerves much. Though it was probably  
nothing, her first duty was still to the safety of her Queen even if it  
meant missing a once in a lifetime opportunity like this. "Deploy the  
reconnaissance drone and set a course for Earth."  
  
He rapidly obeyed and within a matter of minutes, the ship was coming  
about to begin the long trip home as the small form of the data  
collection drone drifted lazily away. The drone wasted no time in  
deploying its collector dish, its small stabilization thrusters firing  
to keep it in the proper orientation as the shimmering sheet of foil was  
unfurled.  
  
"Ma'am, contact lost with everything on the other side of the Gambian  
Belt."  
  
Mercury nodded slightly. //Always trust your instincts, girl,// she  
admonished herself as her lips settled into a grim line that could  
almost be mistaken for a smile. //You're getting slow in your old  
age.// Things had been silent for dozens of centuries, and now  
everything was going to hell all at once.  
  
She turned to her pilot. "Full speed toward Earth, and put the contact  
map on the forward display."  
  
Soon the forward hemisphere of the cabin was bathed in faintly glowing  
yellow-green lines that formed a simplified map of the Milky Way. All  
known human and alien settlements, worlds, and outposts were highlighted  
in a brighter green that almost seemed to hover a few centimeters over  
the backdrop. Well, the ones that were still sending "alive" messages  
were highlighted in green, a vast expanse on the left side of the map  
was in red. Red was for worlds that should be sending "alive" messages,  
but weren't.  
  
Earth was in the middle of the dead worlds.  
  
Even as she watched, the tide of red dots expanded outward slightly and  
her mind raced as she began a series of rapid mental calculations.  
"Change course for Centauri IV. All possible speed."  
  
According to her math, which was rarely wrong, they should arrive at  
Centauri IV shortly before the encroaching wave. She silently prayed  
that it was all a gravitational event, and not something more sinister.  
  
***  
  
Lady Mercury awoke slowly to the dull red lights of emergency power.  
Her last memory was of a watching a glowing wave of energy consume the  
planet below them and then feeling the shock as it hit her tiny vessel.  
There had been no chance to turn aside and likely nowhere to go even if  
there had been. If the sensors had been right just before the impact,  
there shouldn't even be a galaxy left.  
  
Groggily, she began to take stock of the damage to her body. Dozens of  
bruises, some quite large, and a twisted ankle all throbbed in response  
to her mental cataloging. Not too bad, she thought, considering what  
had hit her.  
  
Slowly, she began to take stock of her surroundings. Two things caught  
her attention immediately. For one thing, the contact map was still  
splayed across the cabin's forward display, though the lines were dimmed  
due to lack of power. The map was showing quite a bit of green, though  
not as much as it should have been, and many of the dots seemed to be in  
odd places. Secondly, her pilot was missing.  
  
He wasn't dead, he was just gone. No body, no scorch marks, nothing.  
In fact, the ship seemed to have taken no substantial damage other than  
the missing crewmember.  
  
Well, it's not like she needed him to get home, but he had been kind of  
cute... She frowned and cut the thought off before it got started.  
Worry about the Queen was her first priority, and then came everything  
else.  
  
Without much trouble, she got the ship back to full power and back into  
motion though the engines took two cycles before they came humming back  
to life. Whatever had hit her had done a number on the ship's  
electrical system in a magnetic fashion. Fortunately, most of the  
important parts were designed out of crystal and a simple restart  
repaired the problems.  
  
As she powered through the solar system, heading for deep space it was  
safe to enter warp, her instruments registered a distress call from just  
outside the orbit of the eight planet. Frowning slightly at yet another  
interruption, she changed course to intercept. Doing so would only cost  
her a half hour or so, and compared to the length of the journey ahead,  
it was an almost insignificant detour.  
  
Soon she was upon the source amidst what appeared to be a vast debris  
field. A detailed sensor sweep eventually narrowed down the signal to  
what appeared to be an escape capsule floating in the midst of wreckage.  
Though the markings on the side of the pod were not something she  
recognized, she carefully maneuvered along side of it and brought it  
into the tiny hold of the ship. As soon as the capsule was aboard, she  
resealed her hold and pulled away. Setting the autopilot for Earth, yet  
again, she went to find out exactly who or what had needed her help. If  
they were victims of the same disaster that appeared to have caused so  
much other havoc, it was possible that they knew a little bit more about  
what had gone on.  
  
***  
  
Inside the warm jelly that filled the interior of the pod, a humanoid  
female floated.  
  
In fact, if Mercury didn't know better, she would have sworn that the  
girl was her sister or daughter, but she knew she had neither. On  
closer inspection, she found that the woman didn't look all that much  
like her, after all. Mostly it was the blue hair and the headband that  
did it.  
  
//Might as well ask her who she is,// Mercury decided and pressed the  
buttons on the capsule's control board that seemed most likely to be the  
proper sequence to free the woman from stasis. Though the controls  
themselves weren't familiar, the language labeling them appeared to be a  
dialect of Kurosh, which was fairly common on spacecraft parts.  
  
In a matter of minutes, the pod had dissolved to a pool of goo and the  
woman was beginning to come around.  
  
"Mihoshi..." she murmured distractedly. "Going... kill you..."  
  
The language the girl spoke, at least, appeared to be very similar to  
Japanese, the galactic standard. Mercury waited patiently as her guest  
regained consciousness. She knew from experience how much fun waking  
from stasis was.  
  
"Oh... my head," the blue haired woman muttered as her eyes cracking  
open just a bit. Crusted stasis jelly cracked on her face as she did so  
and some smaller pieces fell to the floor. "Where am I?"  
  
"On board my ship, mind telling me exactly what you were doing floating  
around in a pile of wreckage that doesn't seem to have been a space  
vessel?"  
  
"Weren't a space ship, was a house. Who are you?" She was slurring her  
words a bit, almost drunkenly.  
  
"A house? How strange," Mercury smiled slightly, mostly out of gladness  
that she wasn't the one suffering from a stasis hangover. "As for  
introductions, how about we get you cleaned up and talk in the control  
room? Would you like some tea?"  
  
"Sounds good," the woman muttered and tried in vain to get to her feet.  
  
"Here, let me help you," Mercury said as she offered the woman her hand,  
which was gladly accepted.  
  
***  
  
"So, Kiyone, you're in the... What did you call it again?" Mercury took  
another sip of her tea as she carefully watched her guest.  
  
"Galaxy Police. Don't tell me you don't know who we are." Kiyone took  
a sip from her own cup of tea as she studied her rescuer carefully.  
  
"Actually, I've never heard of them before today. Of course, the way  
things have been these last few decades, I could have missed something  
like that." Mercury sighed lightly as she tried to remember the last  
time she had time for something so simple as watching the news and  
couldn't.  
  
"We've been around for seventeen hundred and fifty three years," she  
mumbled, though her host's raised eyebrow seemed to indicate she had  
been heard. She decided it was time for a change in topic. "What about  
you? I thought I was familiar with most of the major nobility, but I  
don't recognize your name."  
Mercury smiled faintly. "I'm not noble, by any means. Well, in so much  
as my birth parents were nobles."  
  
"Ah, but you introduced yourself as "Lady"?"  
  
"Force of habit. You can call me Ami," she grinned broadly. "No one  
ever does, but I have to try."  
  
"Okay, Ami," Kiyone grinned slightly as well.  
  
"It's one of those things that gets thrust upon you once you've defeated  
a certain number of "Evil Menace Set to Destroy the Universe"s, I think  
the requirement is currently five, but I'm not certain."  
  
Kiyone grinned. "Guess I have two more to go." She took another sip of  
tea then looked up, startled. "I can't believe I've forgotten to report  
in!"  
  
"Oh, you may use my communications system if you wish."  
  
"Thank you." Kiyone bowed slightly and moved forward to the control  
panel. After a few moments of fumbling with the unfamiliar equipment,  
she found the right buttons and dialed in a signal designation. The  
lieutenant's face appeared on the screen. "Kiyone? Is that you? Thank  
God! You're alive!" He looked on the verge of tears. "Listen,  
Mihoshi's gone out of control, she's in the Solar System. You've got to  
go and keep an eye on her, you're the only one she'll listen to! If  
anything happens to her, I'll lose my job!"  
  
Kiyone scowled. //I spend who knows how long floating in space because  
of that bubble head, and now they're trying to give me another  
assignment with her? I can't believe this!// "Sir, I have to decline.  
I don't have a ship, and if you think that I'm going to spend one more  
SECOND on the same assignment as that-"  
  
Mercury broke in, ignoring the look of chagrin Kiyone directed her way,  
"If you need a lift, I'm heading to the Solar System right now... In  
fact, we'll arrive in just a few days." //Besides, I need to find out  
exactly who the "Galaxy Police" are and what they are doing on Earth.  
Possibly they are the source of this recent.//  
  
Kiyone gaped in dismay. "See, Kiyone," the lieutenant said laughing in  
relief. "You'll be able to rejoin your partner in no time at all!"  
  
Kiyone sighed in frustration. It was always like this. No matter what  
she did, she couldn't escape HER. Never, ever, ever. She wanted to  
cry.  
  
END  
  
Tim Williams  
  
fireangel37@yahoo.com  
ffml_tim@yahoo.com  
  
"This time, we're leaving nothing to the imagination. We tried that  
last time, and, in our opinion, it didn't work." -- Henry Rollins,  
"Driveby Shooting" 


	2. Wake Up, Wake Up

Disclaimer (Sailor Moon) goes here!  
  
Chapter 2  
Wake Up, Wake Up  
Queen Serenity awoke slowly. Even after 1500 years, she couldn't find  
her way to being a morning person, not that it really mattered. When  
royalty wanted to sleep in, everyone else usually decided that a late  
morning to early evening schedule suited them just as well. Thus, most  
of her personal responsibilities could be taken care of in the  
afternoon, and the few that couldn't, her daughter was more than capable  
of handling.  
  
That meant that most mornings she was able to gently rise from her  
slumber and greet the day gracefully and happily. It was amazing how  
much easier life was if one actually got adequate sleep at reasonable  
hours. After all, dawn was something best experienced only from the  
other side.  
  
This morning was different, however. For one thing, someone was shaking  
her quite violently and yelling. After a couple seconds of foggy  
confusion, her mind reached out for the Silver Crystal, readying herself  
to draw upon its awesome power if this was an emergency, which it almost  
certainly was. In shock she realized that she could not find it and her  
eyes snapped open, a deep sense of foreboding filled her, but she was  
ready for anything.  
  
Well, anything but the face that gazed down on her. It was a ghost.  
Dead for hundreds of years, but now somehow arisen and attempting to  
rattle her arm off.  
  
A few of the apparition's words made their way into her mind before she  
fainted. Words that she had thought to never hear again.  
  
"Usagi," her mother's voice demanded. "Wake up this instant, you're  
already LATE!"  
  
***  
  
Tsukino Usagi awake slowly. Even after 15 years, she couldn't find her  
way to being a morning person, not that it really mattered. Her mother  
always got her up and out the door in time for a nice brisk, headlong  
suicide dash to school.  
  
Her eyes drifted open just as her mother was preparing to resort to the  
cold water treatment.  
  
Over the years, Usagi had become fairly well versed in the methods her  
mother employed in waking her up. Cold water was the very last weapon  
in her arsenal, which meant that she was seriously late for school.  
  
Her eyes snapped wide open, and a familiar mantra formed on her lips:  
"OhmygodI'msolate!"  
  
Her mother breathed a sigh of relief at not having to spend the rest of  
the morning drying out the mattress and hurried took a step back as  
pajama-clad tornado that was her daughter went dashing past. She made  
her way downstairs and gathered up the more portable items of Usagi's  
breakfast and her lunch.  
  
Usagi spared two point three seconds to give her mother a hug as she  
snagged the proffered food, darted out the door, and made her way at  
amazing speeds toward school, a piece of toast gripped firmly between  
her teeth.  
  
***  
  
Serenity groggily came around and found herself to be running somewhere.  
Well, she wasn't really doing the running, but her body was.  
  
//Where am I going?// she thought.  
  
//Iamsolate! Gottogettoschool!// another thought answered. It sounded  
almost exactly like her own mental voice, but it certainly wasn't hers.  
  
//Err... Hello?// Serenity projected. //Can I have my body back?//  
  
"Ican'ttalkrightnowIamsolate!" her body said, drawing strange looks from  
several pedestrians that had been trying to mind their own business.  
  
//I'll just wait till you get to school them... well, I guess it's we  
since you seem to be in control of my body,// she said with a resigned  
mental sigh. She was fairly certain that she could wrench away control  
if she needed to, but doing so would have to be a last resort because of  
the possible side effects.  
  
Whoever was controlling her body seemed completely unaware of this and  
dashed along even faster.  
  
As they ran along the streets, places and people began to tickle  
Serenity's memory. She got the distinct impression that she had been  
here before, but couldn't place most of it immediately. Things  
certainly didn't look like Neo-Tokyo, though.  
  
Her body rounded a last corner and heaved a sigh of relief. After a  
couple seconds, Serenity identified the building ahead as a school. A  
junior high school. Juban Junior High, to be exact.  
  
Suddenly, things began to fall into place and Serenity realized who was  
in her body with her. It was her. And this was apparently the past.  
It was a big shock, but also a big relief. Time travel wasn't anything  
new to her.  
  
Though the fact that she was apparently without her body was a new twist  
on things. And the Silver Crystal was nowhere to be found, which meant  
that there was no direct way to contact Sailor Pluto. This could be  
bad. Very bad.  
  
Might as well have a talk with myself, she decided.  
  
***  
All morning, Usagi had been feeling a bit strange. Her head felt...  
full. She was used to having cobwebs and the like when she first woke  
up, but this was something different, though not altogether  
uncomfortable. Not to mention the strange thoughts that would surface  
in her mind periodically and take quite a bit of effort to ignore.  
  
Now it was time for lunch and she was sitting underneath a tree with  
Naru, chattering about various subjects, boys being a particular   
favorite.  
  
//Ahem, do you think we could talk?// a strange voice that sounded  
suspiciously like her own asked inside her head, much louder than  
before. The thought was, if anything, annoyed.  
  
"What?!" she exclaimed and jumped slightly.  
  
"Usagi-chan, are you alright?" Naru leaned forward slightly, a look of  
mild confusion and concern on her face at her friend's outburst.  
  
She shook her head to clear it. //I'm hearing things again. Just like  
this morning,// she thought and frowned slightly. "Yeah, Naru-chan, I'm  
fine. Just thought I heard someone calling my name is all."  
  
//Would you like to actually listen to me? I've been trying to get your  
attention all morning. Don'tspeak! Think what you want to say,// the  
voice tried again.  
  
Usagi's expression turned puzzled. //Err... Hello?//  
  
//There! That wasn't so hard, now was it?// The voice sounded  
decidedly happy, though it also held something of a mother praising a  
child.  
  
//Who are you and what are you doing inside my head?//  
  
"Usagi-chan, are you sure you're alright? You keep staring off into  
space like that..." Naru asked as she waved her hand in front of Usagi's  
eyes which had been slightly glazed through most of the internal  
dialogue.  
  
"Oh... ah... I'm just fine! I was just thinking about Motoki, that's  
all!" Usagi answered hurriedly. //We'll talk later.//  
  
"Oh, I know, isn't he just..."  
  
Serenity sighed mentally, //Whatever.//  
  
And things went back to normal for a while.  
  
***  
  
Serenity dozed lightly inside Usagi's head, waiting for a chance to talk  
to herself, strange as that may sound.  
  
She finally got her chance when Usagi was sitting in detention, slowly  
working her way through a set of kanji exercises. Another memory  
tickled her mind and she gave a short mental laugh.  
  
//What's so funny?// Usagi thought back to her, more than just a little  
annoyed. //Who are you, and am I going crazy?//  
  
//Well, I'm you, it's possible we're both insane, and you don't know  
kanji,// Serenity smirked slightly.  
  
//If you're me, then you can't do it, either, so there!// Usagi stuck  
her mental tongue out at the voice.  
  
//Really?// Serenity exerted a good deal of her will and grabbed control  
of her writing hand. Such a limited grab at control wasn't likely to  
cause any damage to the body, at least. It was amazingly easy, her past  
self having nowhere near the experience with mind control and possession  
that she did.  
  
"Hey!" Usagi exclaimed, drawing an odd look from the teacher overseeing  
her and the other two students sharing her detention.  
  
Soon, the page was covered with perfectly drawn characters and she  
released her control of the arm. //There. How's that?//  
  
//Errr... perfect... except for one thing...//  
  
//Oh?// Serenity replied, a bit shocked. She had spent almost five  
years learning how to write the junk and was rather proud of her  
ability.  
  
//No one is going to believe that I wrote this...// Usagi replied,  
causing Serenity to heave a sigh of relief. //But it'll still get me out  
of here, I hope.//  
  
She took the paper up to the teacher who was standing watch. "Sensei,  
I have completed the assignment, my I go home now?"  
  
The teacher shot her a disbelieving look and perused the work. She  
immediately walked past Usagi and began to search the classroom.  
  
Usagi, puzzled, followed after her. "Umm... Sensei, what are you  
doing?"  
  
"I'm trying to find the person that did this work. I know your work,  
Tsukino-san, and I know that those two," she gestured at the two boys  
sitting near the front of the room. They smiled sheepishly. "Couldn't  
have done it."  
  
"Oh... uhh... I just got a flash of inspiration, that's all." Usagi  
laughed nervously and began debating the intelligence of handing in the  
paper.  
  
The teacher heaved a sigh. "I guess you can go, but next time, I want  
you to sit closer to the front of the room so I can keep a closer eye on  
you."  
  
Usagi bowed slightly in gratitude and took her leave.  
  
//Great, that little stunt of yours almost got me in trouble,// Usagi  
fumed at herself.  
  
//Hey, it's been a while since I was in school. How could I be expected  
to remember how bad a student I was?// Serenity shot back. //Besides, it  
got us out of there, didn't it?//  
  
Usagi just grumbled.  
  
//Say, where are we going, anyway?// Serenity was suddenly serious,  
almost sensing what was coming.  
  
//We are going to talk, that's where.//  
  
//Oh, goodie. How about we talk while you walk?// Serenity suggested as  
a sudden idea hit her. //We can go to the arcade or something. I  
haven't played a good game of Sailor V in far too long.//  
  
//Sailor who?//  
  
//Mina-chan,// was the only answer she received.  
  
***  
  
They arrived at the arcade a short chat latter, Usagi now knowing about  
as much about the situation as Serenity. However, she was having  
trouble getting any facts about the future out of the voice that claimed  
to be her future self.  
  
//And why won't you tell me anything USEFUL about the future?// she  
asked for the third time.  
  
//Well, let's put it this way, if I accidentally give you information  
that changes your future, I might end up not existing. I can't tell you  
anything important, sorry.//  
  
Usagi grumbled to herself again, only slightly concerned that she was  
beginning to make a habit of it. The doors slid open at her approach  
and she looked around the arcade, hoping that Motoki was working.  
  
//So, what was it you wanted to do here?//  
  
//Sailor V! It should me the fourth machine in the second row, near the  
fire extinguisher.//  
  
//If you're from a long time in the future, how do you manage to  
remember things like that? I have trouble with things that happened  
just a few months ago.//  
  
//Trust me, if you spend anywhere near as much time as I did in here,  
you'd know the whole place by heart.// Serenity smiled mentally to  
herself at the prospect of enjoying one of the many activities she  
hadn't been able to engage in for several hundred years.  
  
//Is this it?// Usagi peered at the machine skeptically. The blazing  
title "Barbarian Warrior Goddess" was surrounded by scantily clad,  
highly muscular men and women.  
  
//Err... no. I don't remember this one at all.// Serenity watched the  
demo game kick in. //It doesn't even look like her.//  
  
//Well, this is a total bust, Motoki's not even here,// Usagi pouted.  
  
//He has a girlfriend, you know.//  
  
//He WHAT!?! How COULD he?// Usagi almost broke down wailing, but  
Serenity seized control of her body.  
  
//Not on my watch, you don't. Just because he's not available doesn't  
mean that there isn't someone out there that was destined to be with  
you.//  
  
Usagi sniffled mentally, but it just wasn't the same. //Hey, aren't you  
sharing facts about the future with me? Didn't you just spend fifteen  
minutes talking about how you couldn't do that?//  
  
//Err... well, I'm starting to think that this may not really be the  
past, after all. So I don't guess it really matters what I tell you.//  
  
//Wait a minute, if you're not in the past, why are you in my body? And  
if you're me, how come you can write kanji as well as the teachers?  
And-//  
  
//I never said I wasn't you. I'm just not the you that you'll grow up  
to be. Get it?//  
  
Usagi thought for a few seconds. //No, not really.//  
  
Serenity sighed. //Okay, let's head over to the shrine and see if anyone  
else is having our problem. You do know where it is, right?//  
  
//Which shrine?//  
  
//Never mind, I'll just do the walking. Mom isn't expecting us home for  
a while, is she?//  
  
//Nah, I usually go hang out with Naru-chan. But she's helping her mom  
set up for some big jewelry show.//  
  
Serenity, still in control of the body, nodded.  
  
After a few more minutes of walking, the Hikawa Shrine came into view.  
  
//Here we are,// Serenity announced.  
  
//This place? Isn't this a shrine a bit small? We could always go to  
the big one over on-//  
  
//It's not the shrine I want to see, but the people.// Serenity marched  
up the stairs, a faint grin of nostalgia on her face.  
  
She spotted Rei's grandfather, who looked up from sweeping the stairs at  
her approach.  
  
"Excuse me, kind sir, but I'm looking for a Ms. Hino Rei. Would you  
happen to know where I can find her?"  
  
"Of course. I'm always happy to help out a pretty young lady such as  
yourself. She's around back chopping wood for the furo," he smiled at  
her in a benevolent manner that Serenity suspected would change into a  
leer the second she turned her back.  
  
"Thank you very much." She bowed and continued up the stairs.  
  
//So, exactly who is this Rei person, anyway?//  
  
//One of my dearest friends. She's the only I can think of to talk to  
about what's going on.//  
  
Usagi accepted the answer grudgingly. //But will she help us? I mean,  
she doesn't know you yet.//  
  
//Got any better ideas?//  
  
Usagi let it go at that.  
  
By that point, they had reached the top of the stairs, and the faint  
sound of wood being chopped could be heard from behind the living  
quarters area of the shrine.  
  
Moving stealthily, she made her way around the corner and spotted Rei,  
dressed in her Shinto robes, wielding a small axe and cutting small log  
down to size for use in the shrine's furo heater. When the maiden  
stopped for a second to catch her breath, Serenity cleared her throat  
quietly.  
  
"Excuse me, but are you Ms. Hino Rei?" she managed to put a hint of  
doubt into her voice, just in case.  
  
Rei looked up, startled. "Serenity-sama?"  
  
Serenity broke out into a wide smile. "Now where have I heard that name  
before?"  
  
Rei dropped the axe and threw herself at Serenity in a bone-crushing  
hug. 


	3. One Head is Better than None

Chapter 3  
One Head is Better Than None  
  
  
Kino Makoto wrapped her arms tightly about her pillow and mumbled into  
it. Then the first rays of the morning sun touched the foot of her bed  
and the alarm began to sound.  
  
"Mina-chan... turn that off..." she muttered and rolled the pillow  
halfway over her head.  
  
After a few seconds, she groggily sat up and stared at the alarm clock.  
It was 5:45 am. She hadn't gotten up that early for decades. Minako  
must have set it for some strange reason.  
  
She flipped over and slammed the snooze button, reaching her other arm  
out toward her bedmate.  
  
It was at this point that two things sank in. One, she wasn't in her  
normal bed. Not that that was anything incredibly unusual, since she  
did so much traveling, but it didn't look like a hotel room, either.  
Two, she was alone in bed. This sent a definite shiver down her spine.  
The only reasons that Minako would have left bed early would be a  
serious emergency, but surely she'd have woken Makoto first, or she was  
going to cook breakfast.  
  
The cooking of Aino Minako is just as legendary as that of Kino Makoto,  
though for an entirely different reason. While Makoto's food was a  
delight to eat, Minako's would usually lead to a long hospital stay.  
That is, if you were lucky. If she was even looking at the stove, she  
had to be stopped.  
  
That was more than enough to get Makoto out of bed, even at such an  
ungodly hour.  
  
As she stood there, naked, several more things caught her attention.  
For one thing, the bed she was sleeping in was far too small for two  
people and the furnishings of the room were so old as to be antique.  
Finally, the clothes scattered around the room didn't look like anything  
she or Minako had been wearing the night before.  
  
"Uh, oh," Makoto muttered. "Where am I?"  
  
The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in the other girl's  
arms. She sighed faintly at the memory. Their encounters were always  
wonderful. For the last seven or so centuries, they had sought each  
other out at irregular intervals, usually not going more than a decade  
apart at a time.  
  
It was true love. Not some trashy sex thing like they each ended up  
falling into far too often, but two friends who were always there for  
each other, who always would be there for each other. They would spend  
a night or three together, most of the time just holding each other and  
talking about times past, and then move back into their separate lives.  
There was something about knowing that she could hold the same person  
again in another thousand years that made the encounters so desirable,  
even needed.  
  
Both of them had had more husbands than they would care to count, Minako  
even had a wife briefly, but they all left after a few years, unable to  
handle the stress of being married to a Senshi, or met with a tragic  
end. The pain would keep accumulating until it was almost unbearable.  
  
And so, they found each other when it became too much and shared their  
burdens. To hold each other and know that at least one thing in their  
lives wasn't going to be eroded by time. It was something like what the  
Prince and Princess had, or Neptune and Uranus. Love among the  
immortals.  
  
They had only seen each other briefly the night before. Minako, nursing  
the pain of the last man who had left her when he found out that she was  
one of Serenity's soldiers, had sought her out as she was leading a  
delegation to the Peoples Republic of New Australia and that night they  
had talked a long time before finally falling asleep in each other's  
arms.  
  
But now, Minako was missing, and this was definitely NOT the hotel room  
they had been in the night before. Thoughts of assassins and kidnappers  
floated through her head briefly as she scanned the surroundings.  
Certainly, nothing looked particularly menacing, though such a shabby  
room was an oddity even in the worst parts of New Austrailia.  
  
She made her way from the cramped bedroom to a small hallway and into  
the neat little bathroom. She fumbled with the old fashioned knobs  
until the water was good and cold and splashed a healthy amount on her  
face.  
  
She shivered as the cold brought her fully awake and then glanced into  
the mirror for the first time.  
  
The face looking back at her was hers, but it wasn't. It was much  
younger, and her hair was back in the long style that could be easily  
tied back that she had favored through most of her young life but given  
up as impractical later.  
  
It was then that she heard the voice. Well, it was her voice, but it  
wasn't.  
  
//Hey, how'd I get in here?//  
  
"What!?!"  
  
//Who said that? Hey! Why can't I talk?// the voice was loosing it's  
grogginess and taking on an angry tone.  
  
"What are you doing in my head?"  
  
//Your head? This is my body, give it back!//  
  
"This is my body, in case you haven't noticed. Look in the mirror."  
  
There was a second's worth of pause before the voice answered. //Yeah,  
that's me in the mirror, now GIVE ME BACK MY BODY!//  
  
Makoto clutched as the sink as she experience something akin to a mental  
kick in the shins. Not very powerful, but it came as a total surprise.  
  
"Cut that out. What do you mean, 'That's me in the mirror'? That's  
me."  
  
//Like hell it is, get out of my head, and get out of my body before I  
hurt you bad.//  
  
"Listen, kid," Makoto spit out. She wasn't sure why, but the other  
voice definitely seemed much younger than herself. "I don't really have  
time for this, a friend of mine is missing and I don't care what it  
takes for me to get her back. If that includes taking you out of the  
picture, so be it. Now shut up and tell me exactly what you're doing  
inside my head."  
  
//It's my head. I went to sleep last night and when I wake up,  
someone's standing in my bathroom using my body. Where the hell did YOU  
come from?//  
  
"I went to sleep last night and woke up with a different hairstyle, a  
missing friend and a in strange house. You sure you don't know how to  
get out of my head?"  
  
//MY head. And would you kindly get out of it?//  
  
"Err... no, don't know how I got into 'YOUR head' in the first place."  
Makoto frantically searched for a change of subject, if this  
confrontation kept going on for much longer, she was going to have to  
hurt the punk. "Say, what's your name? One of us is in someone else's  
body and we don't even know each other. This is a bit too much like my  
last boyfriend."  
  
//What's yours?//  
  
"A bit defensive are we?" Makoto said then hurried on before the  
impending outburst could hit. "My name is Kino Makoto, now will you  
tell me yours?"  
  
//MY name is Kino Makoto, what's your REAL name?//  
  
"That IS my real name. I've had that name for over a thousand years,  
and I've never met anyone with the same name."  
  
//A thousand years?// there was a mental snort. //Get real.//  
  
"Hey, we're two people in the same body, and you have trouble believing  
that I'm a thousand years old?"  
  
//Good point... Can I have my body back now?//  
  
"Will you get off that? I don't know how to give you the body even if I  
wanted to."  
  
//Just don't stop me when I take over.//  
  
Makoto stood there for a couple seconds, a bit confused by it all. Then  
she felt a... presence attempt to take over her limbs. Instinctively,  
she fought back and the presence vanished.  
  
//OUCH, I said for you to let me take over!//  
  
"Sorry, reflex."  
  
//Well, let's try this again, and you don't stop me this time.//  
  
Makoto nodded and soon felt the presence again. This time, she fought  
her instincts and let it take over. She found herself sinking back down  
into herself as something else surged past her into the front of her  
body.  
  
"Ah, much better." Her body moved out of the bathroom and into the  
bedroom and began collecting the pieces of a school uniform and putting  
them on. "Geeze, this whole fiasco is going to make me late if I don't  
hurry. Happy?"  
  
//Happy? Sharing my body with you? Yeah, right.//  
  
"My body."  
  
//Whatever.//  
  
***  
  
Mercury's tiny star shaped vessel cruised silently through warp space as  
she played yet another game of chess against her guest.  
  
"Are you sure you won't tell me who this "Mihoshi" person is that you  
were babbling about in your sleep?" Mercury asked, one delicate blue  
eyebrow arched in a quizzical expression.  
  
"Were you listening in on me last night?" her guest asked. Her hair was  
tied back in a ponytail because of the strange effect the goo in the  
stasis capsule had on it. She was also missing her trademark headband  
because it didn't look right with the braid.  
  
"No, but "babbling" is not quite the right way to describe what you were  
doing... I think "screaming" is a better fit."  
  
Kiyone brushed a stray strand of hair from her eyes. "Yeah, I guess I  
have some rather... strong feelings about her." She paused as yet  
another strand of hair drifted into her eyes. "How long do you think  
it'll take for my hair to recover from that junk, anyway?"  
  
Mercury smiled sadly, "It won't. You'll have to wait for it to grow  
back normally. Though we could give you a trim if you want to get some  
semblance of order going again."  
  
"Hmm..." Kiyone started at the hair in front of her eyes for a moment.  
"Okay, I can't live with it like this. Are you sure you can cut it?"  
  
"Oh, I've cut hundreds of people's hair, just let me go find a pair of  
scissors."  
  
Kiyone nodded and proceeded to clear off the table and fold it back into  
it's storage compartment.  
  
Mercury mumbled the rest of her sentence as she walked through ship in  
search of a pair of scissors. "Of course, they were being shaved for  
surgery at the time, but it shouldn't be too different."  
  
***  
  
Dr. Frankenstein would have given his left arm for even half of the  
eerie, mad scientist style equipment that filled Washuu's laboratory.  
Well, someone's left arm, anyway.  
  
Crackling worms of electricity danced across instruments that probably  
served no purposes other than generating crackling worms of electricity.  
Bubbling vials of liquid sat on bubbling machines and there was even a  
human body attached to a strange, table-like device in the middle of the  
room.  
  
Well, Frankenstein would probably have had a dead body, but this one was  
still living. And struggling. And mostly nude.  
  
"Now, Tenchi," Washuu began as she pulled the second rubber glove into  
place. "Where were we last time?"  
  
She walked forward a bit before continuing, "Oh, yes, Angel of Mercy  
time."  
  
Tenchi struggled harder against his bonds, but it was no good. Mihoshi  
usually saved him from these situations, but this time Washuu said that  
she had taken the ultimate precaution. Namely, locking the door. It's  
amazing what the owners of multi-dimensional homes take for granted.  
  
Washuu let out an insane cackle as she pulled open his boxer shorts with  
one hand. "Time to shake the dew off this lily!" she exclaimed happily.  
  
Tenchi squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to ward off the approaching hand  
with the power of his mind, not that it ever worked when his life wasn't  
in danger.  
  
"Excuse me, Washuu, we need to talk."  
  
Tenchi opened his eyes and heaved a sigh of relief. Over to one side of  
the room was a strange looking woman with long, dark green hair in a  
black sailor fuku. The outfit was outlandish on an adult, though it  
certainly didn't look like any school uniform he had ever seen before.  
  
"I don't know who you are, but thank you!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Pluto, dear, would you mind coming back in half an hour? I've got  
some... business to attend to," Washuu replied with a distinct note of  
annoyance in her voice.  
  
"Actually..." Pluto began.  
  
"Hey! This doesn't look like the bathroom." Mihoshi wandered out from  
between two particularly large machines and began looking around the  
room in a puzzled manner. Or, at least, that's what she wants you to  
think. Ever think about that? Huh?  
  
Washuu shot Pluto a scathing look. "You let her in here, didn't you?"  
  
"Nope, she was in here before you locked the doors," the Senshi replied  
with a smirk.  
  
"Okay, Tenchi," Washuu said with a sigh. "We'll continue this later.  
Just get Mihoshi out of here before she breaks anything."  
  
There was a muffled boom from the device that the blond detective had  
been playing with.  
  
"Too late."  
  
"Just get her out of here!" Washuu yelled as she flipped the switch that  
released him.  
  
Tenchi wasted no time in grabbing his clothing, Mihoshi and darting out  
the door.  
  
Washuu watched him go with disappointment clear in her eyes. "So, what  
did you want?"  
  
"Well, there have been some major changes in the time stream," Pluto  
began. "I was wondering if you would care to try to figure out what  
caused them. Oh, and how are you set up for cloning Earthlings?"  
  
***  
  
Makoto spent most of her day as normal, though the voice that had taken  
up residence in her mind kept nagging her to see a guidance councilor.  
  
Finally, she relented and skipped lunch to have a talk with Hinawa-  
sensei.  
  
"Hinawa-sensei, I was wondering if I could have a word with you?" Makoto  
bowed slightly at the older woman.  
  
"How may I help you, Kino-san?" she replied, returning the bow.  
  
//Let me handle this.// the voice asserted.  
  
//Okay, but I really wish that you'd tell me what you want to see her  
for.// Makoto released control of her body to her other self and sat  
back to watch the meeting.  
  
"Sensei, I've been thinking a lot about my record."  
  
Ms. Hinawa's face tightened slightly. "Yes?"  
  
"I know that I've been in a lot of fights and all, and I know that it's  
only going to lead to more trouble since I've developed a bit of a  
reputation as a fighter."  
  
//Errr... what exactly are you doing?//  
  
//Trust me. I've been through this before. Besides, they kick you out  
of here tomorrow.//  
  
//They what!?!//  
  
//Do the words "chicken-legged bitch" make you angry?//  
  
//Hell yes.//  
  
//Let's just say that they made me angry, too.//  
  
Makoto was silent and let the other mind handle the rest of the  
encounter, not that she could have wrestled back control, anyway.  
Whatever had taken up residence in her head had a will of iron.  
  
"Kino-san, I'm well aware of your record and I know that one more-"  
  
"Ma'am, I know that I'm close to being ejected from this school, but  
with my reputation, another fight is inevitable. Some guy will  
undoubtedly try to pick a fight before the week is out."  
  
Ms. Hinawa nodded gravely. The girl had finally figured out her  
problem.  
  
"So, I was thinking that it might be best if I just left for another  
school where I can start over again."  
  
Her counselor heaved an inward sigh of relief. Finally, she thought,  
she's getting out of my hair. "Have you decided where you want to go  
to?"  
  
"Yes, I was thinking that Juuban seems to be a nice, calm area to live  
in. Exactly what I need right now."  
  
"I couldn't agree more. When shall I have your papers sent over there?  
Next week?"  
  
"Actually, Sensei, I was hoping to start there tomorrow."  
  
If Makoto hadn't been there, her teacher would have jumped for joy. "I  
see... It is highly irregular for transfers to be so fast, but in your  
case, I think I can pull a few strings." She glanced at the clock on  
the wall. "Why don't you go say goodbye to your friends before the  
lunch period ends and take the rest of the day off. I'm certain that  
you'll need the time to move your things into a new place."  
  
//Exactly why am I moving? And to Juuban of all places, that's the most  
boring area of the city!//  
  
//Juuban is anything but boring, believe me. Besides, it's not like you  
were going to be able to stay here much longer anyway. Not with the way  
you and that Akira punk go at it.//  
  
//Akira? He's the punk that gets me kicked out of here? When I see  
him, I'm going to smash his face in-//  
  
//Calm down! Geeze, I can't believe that I was ever this dense.//  
  
//Dense am I?//  
  
Things just went downhill from there.  
  
END  
  
Tim Williams  
  
fireangel37@yahoo.com  
ffml_tim@yahoo.com  
  
"This time, we're leaving nothing to the imagination. We tried that  
last time, and, in our opinion, it didn't work." -- Henry Rollins,  
"Driveby Shooting" 


	4. Come Together Right Now

Chapter 4  
Come Together... Right Now  
Aino Minako had what is probably the most unique experience of all the  
Senshi since she was awake when her other self found it's way into her  
head. She was sitting on a plane bound for Japan, reading an English  
teen-modeling magazine when it hit her.  
  
It was kind of like having a large person squeeze into a telephone booth  
with you. Unpleasant at first, but not too bad once you were both  
settled, though a bit cramped.  
  
Woozily she reached for an airsickness bag in case things were going to  
get messy.  
  
After a few minutes, however, the vertigo stopped and she was merely  
left with a feeling of... fullness. Shortly, however, the things got  
stranger.  
  
//ACK, who turned on the lights?//  
  
Minako jumped a bit, startled by the voice inside her head. "Wh-what?"  
  
//I said, W-H-O T-U-R-N-E-D O-N T-H-E L-I-G-H-T-S?//  
  
"Okay, that's it. Those airline peanuts have something dangerous in  
them," Minako muttered to herself.  
  
//Hey, wait a minute, what am I doing on a plane, anyway? Last thing I  
remember was being in a hotel room with Mako-chan.//  
  
"Mako-chan?" Minako asked quietly, mindful of the person dozing lightly  
beside her.  
  
//Yeah, and what are you doing in my body, anyway?//  
  
"You are the one that just landed in my body. I was trying to read a  
magazine and then you barged into my head like you own the place."  
Minako spent a couple of moments trying to decide whether this was all  
just a weird dream or if she was going crazy. Either way, panicking  
would get her nowhere. Besides, she was kind of curious about the type  
of person that would pick her head to invade. "Hey, who are you,  
anyway?"  
  
//Aino Minako, the beautiful and talented goddess of love.//  
  
"Err... pleased to meet you, I'm Aino Minako the apparently insane."  
  
The voice in her head heaved a mental sigh. //I don't suppose that this  
is some crazy dream, is it?//  
  
"Well, that's what I'm hoping."  
  
//If we're both hoping it's a dream, then it probably isn't. Say, where  
are we, anyway?//  
  
"On a plane, I'm moving to Japan this week."  
  
//From England?//  
  
"Yeah, how'd you know?"  
  
//I've been through this before. Looks like I'm trapped in one of those  
kooky time travel things.// Another mental sigh. //Hey, Artemis might  
know what's going on.//  
  
"Artemis? My cat?"  
  
//Yeah, your cat. Where is he, anyway?//  
  
"He's in the cargo hold in his pet carrier. But why would he know  
what's going on, he's just a cat."  
  
//Yeah, right. You mean he hasn't talked to you yet?//  
  
"He's a cat..."  
  
//He's a Moon cat. But that's strange, he's the one who told me how to  
turn into Sailor V, and that was well before I ever moved to Japan...//  
  
"Sailor V?"  
  
//You don't know who Sailor V is?// the voice sounded appalled. //Maybe  
this isn't time travel, after all.//  
  
"Yeah, it's just me going insane."  
  
//You're not going insane. If anyone's going insane, it's me. I hope I  
don't bite Mako-chan if I start foaming at the mouth.//  
  
"Who's Mako-chan? Your boyfriend?"  
  
//Heh, well, not exactly... She's my best friend.//  
  
"Oh, but how can you be the one going insane? You're just a disembodied  
voice."  
  
//Well, I had a body when I went to bed last night.// There was a  
thoughtful pause. //Say, what's the date, anyway?//  
  
Minako told her.  
  
//Strange, I thought I moved to Japan last month. Well, when I did it,  
at least.//  
  
Minako shrugged. "Dad's transfer got delayed because of some new  
immigration laws or something."  
  
//Hmm... strange... are you registered in a school yet? When I did  
this, I didn't pick till I got there.//  
  
"Nope, but mom's been looking at-"  
  
//Get her to register you at Juuban Junior High. Believe me, it'll make  
life a lot simpler.//  
  
"If you say so. I wonder if they accept people who hear voices..."  
  
//Oh, I think just about anyone can get into Juuban. Well, unless your  
tentacles are too obvious...//  
  
"Tentacles? Ick!"  
  
//You get used to them. Besides, you can just think of me as your  
Guardian Angel.//  
  
"Guardian Angel? So, what are you going to do for me?"  
  
//Well, for starters, get you a date with someone gorgeous. If you're  
me, I won't have you dating anything less than the best!//  
  
Minako giggled. "I wonder if all insane people have voices like you."  
  
//They can only wish. Now, refresh my memory on what kind of guys I  
liked at your age. The Goddess of Love is ready to go to work.//  
  
***  
  
Rei and Serenity were sipping tea in the shrine, quietly discussing what  
they knew about recent events. Both were trapped in the bodies of their  
past selves, who were not enjoying sharing the facilities with  
themselves, either.  
  
"Then there was a bright flash of light, and that was it. Next thing I  
remember, I was in this body in bed here," Rei finished. The real Rei,  
meanwhile, was twiddling her mental thumbs in boredom.  
  
Serenity nodded. "I remember going to bed with Endy-chan and then  
waking up to my mother trying shake me to death."  
  
Rei grinned bitterly. "You had it easy. I've been out of the shrine  
maiden business for far too long to be getting up at five in the morning  
to tend the fire." She sighed softly. "Yuuichirou isn't even around  
yet to keep me company."  
  
Serenity gently took Rei's hand. "Don't worry, we'll find our way back  
home."  
  
Rei nodded and then became thoughtful. "Serenity-sama? Do we really  
need to go back? I mean, it's not like the Kingdom really needs us  
anymore and everyone has at least one successor trained and ready to  
take over..."  
  
"And he's alive here?" Serenity asked gently. She knew that Rei had  
been nursing wounds from the death of her husband, Yuuichirou, in a  
shuttle accident a scant twenty years after they had married, almost a  
thousand years ago. She wanted to make sure that she wasn't going to do  
anything for the wrong reasons.  
  
"Yeah, and that..." Rei looked even sadder.  
  
"Well, having a bit of a vacation would certainly be nice, but I'm not  
sure that we'd want to do that without our own bodies," she replied.  
"I'm not sure how much longer we're going to be able to live like this  
without getting on our own nerves, if you know what I mean."  
  
Rei smiled sadly. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I did a fire  
reading on it, but nothing makes any sense. All I get are flashes of a  
red crab and wood that flies. Something tells me that there is  
something evil coming, though."  
  
Serenity nodded. "Do you think we should see about finding the others  
and start training these bodies?"  
  
Rei perked up a bit. "That sound great, but are we going to need to  
find Luna before we can get the Transformation wands?"  
  
Serenity thought for a few minutes. "No, I think we can create our own.  
It'll be tough, but certainly a lot better than waiting around for Luna  
to show up, if she does at all. Besides, I know how she does it,  
anyway." She grinned mischievously. "She just liked to make us think  
it was hard."  
  
Serenity held out her hand, palm upward. "The wands and the brooch are  
just manifestations of your soul, like the talismans were. It takes a  
lot of power to generate them, but I'm certain that it'll be no problem  
for us." She closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to remember what  
her original transformation brooch had looked like.  
  
Rei watched intently as a swirling pillar of golden sparks formed in  
Serenity's hand. They danced and darted for a moment before settling  
into the familiar form.  
  
Serenity sighed in relief as she felt the weight settle into her hand.  
"Your turn," she said as she pinned the talisman to the bow of her fuku.  
  
Rei nodded and put out her hand. After a few minutes of concentration,  
a spark formed in the center of her palm and then rushed upward until it  
formed a gout of flame over a foot long. After a few seconds, it died  
away until the Transformation Wand with the sigil of Mars could be seen.  
  
Rei exhaled heavily and slumped a bit. "That's harder than it looks."  
  
Serenity nodded. "We should also return their memories, but that can  
wait till tomorrow. I'm not sure that I can do much more tonight."  
  
With a flick of her wrist, Rei vanquished the wand and it returned to  
rest within her soul and wait to be summoned once more. "Yeah, we've  
still got some chores to finish before bed."  
  
As Serenity moved to get up, she had one last thought. "Say, do you  
remember where Minako is supposed to be right now? As far as I can  
tell, Sailor V isn't around yet."  
  
Rei shook her head sadly. "I have no idea, but maybe England. What  
about Makoto and Ami?"  
  
"Makoto should be getting transferred to Juban in the next couple of  
weeks or so and I think I spotted Ami today at lunch. Mako-chan might  
even show up sooner if she's having the same problems we are. I'm not  
sure about our Ami being here, though. Last I heard, she was out near  
the Core watching that black hole forming. She didn't show any  
recognition when I saw her this morning, and whatever brought us here  
might not have reached her."  
  
"Yeah, but I hate to think about the trouble we're going to go through  
getting back if she's not around. I don't exactly have a working  
knowledge of time travel or whatever it was that we went through."  
Rei's face went through a bit of turmoil. "Okay, party's over. The  
young one is going to start screaming if I don't let her have her body  
back soon."  
  
Serenity grinned. "You always were a temperamental one at that age,  
Rei-chan. Usagi's asleep and I won't wake her till we get to the  
house... It's nice to be home again, even if I've got to live with  
myself to do it."  
  
Rei nodded sagely and the sighed as she relinquished control. Her face  
set itself into a slight frown. "Serenity-san, shall I show you out?"  
  
Serenity looked at Rei thoughtfully for a moment. "Please, call me  
Usagi. That's my real name, Tsukino Usagi. Serenity is a title I took  
up... later in life, but I'm certain that your other self is way too set  
in her ways to return to calling me Usagi anytime soon."  
  
"You will be returning tomorrow, Usagi-san? I listened to much of your  
conversation with my... roommate."  
  
"Yes," Serenity nodded. "We're going to awaken your sleeping memories.  
I hate to push any of you into accepting the kind of responsibility that  
you will have, but it is far better for you to have them restored  
carefully in a calm atmosphere and have time to adjust before you are  
thrust into the fray. We didn't have that luxury and it made things  
very confusing for several years."  
  
With a bow, Serenity made to excuse herself. Then she turned to give  
Rei a benevolent look over her shoulder, "Rei-san, can I ask a favor of  
you?"  
  
"Yes, Ser.. Usagi-san?"  
  
"Be patient with Usagi-chan for me. She's young and immature, but she  
will have to grow up fast. I know that the support of my Rei-chan meant  
a lot to me when I was her."  
  
"I will try, Usagi-san."  
  
"That is all that I ask. Good night, Rei-san."  
  
***  
  
Serenity guided Usagi's body through the long walk from the Hikawa  
shrine to her old house, spending a good deal of time wondering about  
the others, particularly Minako and Hotaru. Something was going to have  
to be done to help the younger Senshi if she was in the same kind of  
situation in this world as in the other. Especially if her older mind  
had entered her body.  
  
Serenity had every confidence in Hotaru. She had proven time and again  
that she was more than a match for her darker side, but that was without  
Master Pharaoh 90 to worry about.  
  
Who knows what kind of trouble she could be in if her darker half proved  
to be stronger than her or took her by surprise? It was far too early  
to have to face Mistress 9.  
  
"I wish Pluto would show up," she muttered. "It'll take me too long to  
track down Haruka and Michiru on my own, and we need to get a hold of  
the Rainbow Crystals, as well."  
  
There was still a good half hour of daylight left by the time she made  
it home. She slipped inside and followed her nose to the kitchen where  
her mother was baking.  
  
"Welcome home, dear," her mother greeted broadly. "Dinner will be ready  
soon, why don't you go and wash up?"  
  
Serenity bowed, smiling broadly at the prospect of getting to eat her  
mother's cooking again. "Yes, mother." She turned and was halfway up  
the stairs before her mother's call brought her to a halt.  
  
"Oh! A Mr. Chiba called for you just a few minutes ago. He said that  
you'd dropped a notebook when you ran into him the other day, and he  
wants to return it. His number is beside the phone in the living room."  
  
Serenity was at the phone in a flash. If Mamoru had called her, that  
meant that Endymion was probably here, as well. She found the  
scribbled note and dialed the number.  
  
On the fourth ring, he picked up. "Chiba residence, this is Mamoru."  
  
"Excuse me, Mr. Chiba, but I'm wondering if you're been hearing voices?"  
she asked with a grin.  
  
"Serenity? That you?"  
  
"Endy-chan! You're here, too? That makes at least three of us."  
  
"Who's the third?"  
  
"Mars," she pondered just spilling everything that she knew, but it  
probably wouldn't help matters. "Listen, we should meet and talk about  
things tomorrow sometime. I've got school, but Rei and I were planning  
on attempting the Mind Meld trick that Luna used on us. Can you be at  
the shrine at, let's say, five?"  
  
"Sure, I'll be there." There was a pause. "I'm just so glad that I'm  
not going insane."  
  
"Afraid that your roses were going to turn white again, dear?"  
  
"Very funny."  
  
***  
  
Usagi managed to finish her homework in record time that night. Of  
course, having someone take control of your body every time you try to  
sneak away to read a manga does wonders for study habits, but it's not  
much fun.  
  
As she finished the last problem, Serenity gently took control of the  
body again. "I don't know why you're complaining, it's a lot more fun  
to do the work than be punished for not doing it."  
  
She put the materials into her book bag and set it beside the desk in  
its customary place.  
  
"Ah, since that's done," she sighed and stretched her aching shoulders.  
"Setsuna, you can come out now."  
  
Usagi jumped in surprise at the voice that replied, "How did you know I  
was here?" Well, she would have jumped in surprise if she'd had control  
of her body, but it's the thought that counts.  
  
Serenity swiveled the chair around with a broad grin on her face. "I  
didn't. I just like saying that to empty rooms at dramatically  
appropriate times. This is the first time it's worked, though..." She  
was on the verge of giggling, but maintained her iron control.  
  
Over the years she had developed a sort of friendship with the Senshi of  
Time. Pluto tended to manipulate others into doing whatever she wanted,  
but Serenity could usually out do her in these conversations, though it  
was a great challenge.  
  
For one of the few times in her extremely long existence, Pluto was at a  
loss for words.  
  
"So, do you know what's going on? We're not from this time line, are  
we?"  
  
The older Senshi recovered quickly, "No, you're not from this world."  
  
"What took you so long to appear, anyway? I'd have thought you'd be  
here to greet us when we showed up so you could yell at us about not  
revealing anything about the future."  
  
Pluto frowned. "As far as I can tell, your actions are not a danger to  
the time stream."  
  
That was a big surprise for Serenity. "Listen, we don't have time to  
play games. We need the Silver Crystal. I'm certain that Mars and I  
can handle it if we're the only Inner Senshi who made the trip, but  
there is another task that has to be done." She gazed at Pluto  
meaningfully.  
  
"I take it you speak of Saturn."  
  
"Yes. If our Hotaru is here, she may need help summoning Saturn's power  
or breaking the hold of Master Pharaoh 90. I need you, Michiru and  
Haruka to handle that while we gather the Rainbow Crystals."  
  
Pluto nodded. "I've already seen to it that Michiru and Haruka are  
scouting out the area. We'll make our move soon."  
  
"Don't wait too long. I can't stop her if she goes out of control  
without the Silver Crystal, but I'm certain that Hotaru has more than  
enough control to break the evil ones' hold as long as nothing  
intervenes. Just make sure that nothing stops her from getting her  
chance."  
  
"Is that all?"  
  
"That's all I can think of at the moment. Do you know what the status  
on the Dark Kingdom is?"  
  
"It's breaking through slowly. The first scouts should be through the  
gateways within a few days."  
  
Serenity nodded. "That's more than enough time. This time, we're going  
to fight this war right."  
  
"If I may make a suggestion?"  
  
"Always."  
  
"Let the young ones fight for themselves. This is their world, and thus  
their battle."  
  
Serenity nodded again. "I know. But I'm not going to let them do this  
alone."  
  
"Is that all, my queen?"  
  
"You always know more than you tell, don't you my dear Setsuna?"  
  
"Not always, but telling too much can be just and dangerous as not  
telling enough."  
  
"Well, anything I should know?"  
  
"Yes, be sure to be at the shrine tomorrow and you might want to take a  
little vacation this weekend."  
  
"Vacation? I assume you have arranged something?"  
  
"Of course. There is a friend of mine who will be able to help you with  
your problem."  
  
"Problem?" Serenity asked. The Senshi of Time, however, was already  
gone.  
  
"Worse than Batman," Serenity mumbled to herself, though there was no  
one around to hear it. 


	5. Childhood's End

Tsukino Usagi managed to get to school almost ten minutes early the next day, an accomplishment that had less to do with any new-found sense of duty and more to do with Serenity's low tolerance for being shaken.  
  
Naru was quite surprised, to say the least. The two actually got to walk to school for once instead of taking part in an early morning marathon.  
  
"Usagi-chan, are you going to be at the gem show tonight? Mother and I spent all last night getting everything ready. Where were you, anyway? I thought you said that you'd drop by and help?"  
  
Usagi laughed a little bit nervously but answered casually, "Oh, I just forgot about it... I'll try to be there, but I might be a little late. What time does it start?"  
  
"See? I knew I would need to remind you about this," Naru shook her head in dismay at her friend's lack of responsibility. "It starts at seven, but we'll be there around six to start setting up."  
  
"Don't worry, Naru-chan. I'll be there."  
  
"You'd better be. Mom wasn't very happy that you didn't show up last night."  
  
Usagi frowned. "I'm really sorry, but I ran into someone I haven't seen in a really long time and we got to talking and I lost track of time."  
  
"Who was it? Anyone I know?"  
  
"Nah, she doesn't go to our school. I met her... at... um... summer school last year."  
  
//Good save,// Serenity's voice rang out in her head, laden with sarcasm.  
  
//Thank you.//  
  
Serenity sighed as Usagi totally overlooked the real meaning of her words. The girl had so much to learn.  
  
"Say, Naru-chan, would you mind if I brought a friend or two with me to the show? We're supposed to do something earlier today, and I think it would be nice if we could all do something together..."  
  
Naru smiled slightly. "Sure. Bring as many as you want, it'll be fun. We can cut out early and go get ice cream or something."  
  
"Mmmmm...." Usagi's eyes glazed over. "Ice cream."  
  
Naru giggled in relief. "You've been acting a little weird all morning, but that look was definitely 100% Usagi."  
  
At that point they reached the school and began the long process of mingling their way to class.  
  


* * *

  
"Class, I'd like to introduce two new students," Ms. Haruna announced. "Kino Makoto and Aino Minako."  
  
Serenity smacked Usagi in the back of the mental head, pulling her attention away from the manga she was reading behind a textbook and causing her to glance toward the board.  
  
//That's them!// she announced happily. She seized control and rummaged through a her notebook for a clean page. Drawing quickly and methodically, she wrote the words "That you?" in the script of Crystal Tokyo and held it up to where Makoto and Minako could just see it.  
  
"Aino-san has just arrived from England." Minako bowed to the class as she was introduced.  
  
"And Kino-san is a transfer student from a neighboring school," Ms. Haruna continued and Makoto bowed, as well. "I'd like to ask that you each make an effort to welcome them to their new school.  
  
Each girl nodded slightly upon noticing Serenity's sign.  
  
//What was all that, anyway?// Usagi asked, more than a little peeved at having her reading interrupted before actual class started.  
  
//Friends of mine. Your new teammates.// Serenity replied.  
  
"Now if you would each take a seat, I'm certain that we are all eager to get started." The few groans let out by the class were done quietly.  
  


* * *

  
The scene at the shrine was more crowded than Rei had been expecting. Somehow, Minako and Makoto had both shown up, along with a slightly confused looking Mamoru.  
  
//Isn't that they guy that keeps on calling Usagi "Odango-atama"? What's he doing here?// her younger self asked as she gazed at him dreamily. //Not that I mind, since he is rather cute.//  
  
//He's not for you. Believe me, I tried,// she told herself. //You'll get most of your answers if this goes as planned.//  
  
//Okay.// She let it drop, though she didn't sound very pleased at the evasive answer.  
  
It was at that moment that Usagi chose to make her entrance.  
  
Rei looked up as she approached and noticed that she was alone. "Where's Ami-chan?"  
  
"She isn't here," Serenity replied. "I talked to her today at lunch and she isn't 'of two minds' about anything."  
  
"Please," Rei narrowed her eyes slightly. "Tell me that you didn't just make really obscure references like that at her and expected her to get them. She never was very good at picking up subtle hints, you know."  
  
"Well, I also said, 'Gribzaks sorpeto torboona kal.' to her, but she just looked at me strangely."  
  
"Err... I would have looked at you strangely too, what does that mean?"  
  
"It's an old joke between me and her. Remember that time we went to Rigel IX?" Serenity grinned mischievously.  
  
Rei couldn't recall the story she was referring to and decided it was probably better to just let it go. "The others are here. Have you heard anything from the Outer Senshi? We should contact them as soon as possible."  
  
"I talked to Pluto and right now she should be taking Haruka and Michiru to take care of any... problems that Hotaru might be having."  
  
"You spoke with Pluto? Is she having the same personality conflicts that we are?"  
  
"I don't believe so, but who can tell with that woman? Though two of her is a scary thought." Serenity shivered. "She's already made some kind of arrangements for one of our problems, though I'm not sure which one. She said something about us going on a 'Vacation' this weekend."  
  
"She's our travel agent now? How come that doesn't comfort me."  
  
"Well, she always knows what the weather's going to be like," Serenity grinned. "We know that we can trust her, at least. Just be ready to go on... Say, what is today, anyway?"  
  
"Thursday, do you think she means for us to leave tomorrow?"  
  
"I don't know, but be ready by tomorrow, just in case."  
  
Rei nodded. "Well, the others are waiting. Shall we get this party started?"  
  


* * *

  
Kiyone glared at Mercury. Her hair was now in a short cut, very like the one worn my Ami.  
  
"I don't know what you're so mad about," Mercury said. "That look is perfectly fine. I wore it for centuries. And the others were all very popular as well."  
  
"Popular for who!?!" Kiyone was fuming. "A colony of blind people?"  
  
"Actually, it was an interstellar empire."  
  
//It's impossible to argue with this woman,// Kiyone thought, feeling the anger drain out of here.. //She just doesn't get mad at anything. Almost... like... Mihoshi... well, without the crying. Mihoshi, it all comes back to her. Well, maybe she's better by now. Like I'd be that lucky, but still, maybe.//  
  
Besides, this last hairstyle didn't look half bad.  
  


* * *

  
They sat in a ring. Usagi was between Mamoru and Minako. Minako was beside Makoto who was beside Rei who was on the other side of Mamoru.  
  
"Okay," Serenity announced. "Each of us is experiencing a shortage of head room, but that's not the problem we're going to address tonight." She looked over to Rei and nodded slightly. "Rei has received signs that something evil is about to arise. That means that someone is going to have to come forward to stop it."  
  
The older minds in the room who were in command of bodies at the moment nodded grimly.  
  
"It's time for each of you to make a choice." Serenity swept her gaze around the room. "Everyone here, including Usagi, has the power to fight this evil, whatever it is. That power comes with memories of another life, as well."  
  
"When we faced such a danger in out own youths, the choice was taken out of our hands. It was fight and remember or forget and die. We chose to remember, and it ruined any chance that we would ever have for normal lives. If you don't want to fight, or to remember, we won't force you."  
  
"Though I must warn you, you may be forced to remember whether you want to or not. We forgot for a while, once, but there is always another battle waiting to happen."  
  
"You, however, must choose." Serenity fell silent. The speech came out much better the second time, she felt. The first had only been for Usagi's benefit, though, and this was a much more mixed crowd.  
  
Rei was the first to speak up. "I know that I cannot sit idly by if there is evil threatening. It is my duty to accept."  
  
Makoto jumped in right behind her. "I won't back down form a fight."  
  
Minako and Mamoru both seemed to be locked in internal debates. Mamoru's finished first.  
  
"I've been searching for my past for far too long to pass this up," he spoke softly.  
  
Finally, the Minakos seemed to reach a decision and nodded silently.  
  
"Alright then," Serenity managed to hold back the sigh of relief she wanted to heave. "Everyone just relax and join hands."  
  
Gently she began to probe around in Usagi's head until she found what felt like the right barriers and released them. She waited for a moment before hazarding a question.  
  
//Was that it?//  
  
//Yeah,// Usagi replied weakly. //I think that was it.//  
  
Accepting that as proof that she could do this, Serenity pushed herself out of Usagi's body and into Mamoru's. Her mind met that of Endymion and together they searched Mamoru's for the barriers. They were a lot more complicated than Usagi's had been, which explained a lot about the multiple personalities that he had manifested in their own world. Soon, those barriers fell, as well and Serenity was off around the circle, destroying barriers one by one until she finally reached her own body again.  
  
By that point, Usagi had recovered from the flood of memories and formed her questions. Serenity paused to answer a few of her most pressing concerns before taking control of the body again and speaking.  
  
"I realize that this is all very confusing for you all, but try to relax. Let it sort itself out in your minds before you get too worried about anything. Now, you will have to forgive me," she moved to stand, "but Usagi has a convention to attend. If any of you wish to join her, I'm certain that you'll have plenty of time to talk."  
  
Slowly the group broke up. Rei said she needed to finish her chores and wouldn't be able to make it. Mamouro begged out of it by claiming that he had a paper due the next day, but both Minako and Makoto agreed to accompany her as long as they got a chance to run home and change first.  
  
Usagi said that it was a good idea, and Serenity voiced their agreement.  
  
Serenity had made her way almost a third of the way down the stairs leading to the Hikawa Shrine before Usagi decided which of her questions she wanted answered first. From there on, Serenity had a lot of explaining to do.  
  


* * *

  
Minako darted in the front door and up the stairs to her room where she found her cat sitting up on the bed, waiting on her.  
  
His day had been rather eventful. One minute, he was just a regular cat, laying happily in a sun beam, the next, he had sensed something evil in the area and sleeping memories had been unlocked.  
  
Now he knew who he was, where he had come from, and why he had been drawn to Minako. She had to turn into Sailor... Sailor... Sailor something... V? That sounded almost right... and fight it.  
  
She completely ignored him as she opened the closet and began rummaging through the boxes of clothes that filled her closet.  
  
Gathering up all of his courage, which was quite an incredible amount for a cat, he spoke. "Minako, there is something evil stalking the city. You must transform into Sailor V and destroy it!"  
  
To his surprise, Minako didn't run out of the room screaming. Instead, she just stopped her rummaging and looked at him over her shoulder. "My, it certainly took you long enough to finally talk to me."  
  
Artemis didn't have a heart attack, though he only escaped because of his naturally relaxed nature.  
  
"And don't you mean Sailor Venus?" Minako replied, her smile hidden by the fact that she was again searching her closet.  
  
"Err... you're not surprised that I can talk? Not even a little?" he asked, not believing any of this.  
  
She stepped back from her closet with an armload of garments, which she then dumped on the bed beside the cat. Then she scooped him up in her arms and gave him a hearty scratching behind the ears.  
  
"Let's just say that my memory is probably better than yours." She opened the door to her room. "But you're not going to get to watch me change anymore."  
  
Artemis could only stare at the closed door, disappointed that he wasn't going to get to see anything now that he was actually of a mind to enjoy it.  
  


* * *

  
To Serenity's surprise, Mianko showed up wearing Artemis. Of course, Usagi found the sight rather comical, or at least, a lot more entertaining than the lecture she had been receiving on combat tactics.  
  
"Look who finally found his tongue." Minako smirked as the feline grumbled something about always being the last to know. "He says there's something evil stalking the city. Probably youma."  
  
"Did he say where?" Serenity asked, confident that Usagi would take her more seriously after a few battles.  
  
"It's really close to this place, it seems." Minako inclined her head to the smallish convention center across the street.  
  
Makoto arrived shortly and they went inside for a date with Destiny and Fate. Of course, that would mean that someone would have to sit out if they danced, but so be it. Unless Lady Luck showed up, then Makoto and Minako would probably end up dancing together, but they were still trying to keep themselves from finding out about that. 


	6. A Date with Destiny

The Third Annual Juuban Area Gem and Precious Stone Show was well underway by the time Usagi talked her way past the man at the door. As luck would have it, he remembered her from the last two conventions where she had helped out Naru's mother at the Osa-P's display and let them in without much hassle.  
  
Everywhere, the place was swarming with people. Many of them were the owners of jewelry shops from outside Tokyo or wealthy collectors, though many of them were just normal people who wanted to see the beautiful items on display.  
  
Excited as it was for most of them, Naru found the whole thing insanely boring. She had spent most of the evening listening to her mother drone on endlessly about the gems in their collection. That, in itself, wasn't so bad. It was the fact that everyone asked about the exact same pieces that got so boring.  
  
Her mother, however, didn't seem to mind, her love of the trade was enough to sustain her through her twentieth recitation of the history of a particularly large diamond. Naru just leaned back in her chair and tried to pretend that it was close to closing time.  
  
Too bad the show had only been going on for an hour.  
  
Then, suddenly, the crowd parted and she spotted Usagi and the two new students making their way toward her table. Strangely enough, the blond girl was wearing something that looked like a cat.  
  
"Naru-chan! This place is a mad house. Want to get out of here? We're going for ice cream," Usagi exclaimed eagerly. The thought of ice cream was already causing the outside world to fade slightly.  
  
"Well..." Naru turned to look at her mother, who nodded her approval. "Sure, I'd love to. Let's go." She wormed around the table and into the aisle between displays.  
  
"Be careful, this place is a bit crowded." Usagi began leading them toward the relative safety of the entryway.  
  
They were almost half way there, right in the middle of the showroom, when the screaming started. If Naru hadn't known better, she would have sworn that Minako's cat muttered an "I told you so."  
  
People began to drop in growing circle originating very close to the main exit and the crowd began to surge back, looking for another way out of the building. Naru found herself alone in the crowd as her friend was pulled away from her.  
  
She soon found herself between the source of the disturbance and the leading edge of the crowd, which provided her a good, though unwelcome, view of the antagonist. The dark gray... thing spotted her, too.  
  
Reaching out one of it's misshapen hands, it began to pull the air slowly toward it. Naru felt something deep inside her being drawn toward it creating a painful, tearing sensation all through her body. She screamed and dropped to her knees, overcome by the pain and beginning to lose consciousness.  
  
"Hold it right there!" A shout rang out in the mostly deserted room. The beast thing stopped it's gesturing and turned to look at the source of the shout.  
  
Naru sighed in relief as the tearing stopped and fell forward, drifting into unconsciousness. The last thing she heard was the name of her savior. Sailor Moon.  
  


* * *

  
Usagi wasn't having a good time. She had just gotten separated from Naru and the others and whatever it was that was causing the disturbance had spotted her friend.  
  
//Damn, why do they always want to hurt her?// Serenity's voice asked. //Quick, Usagi, duck under one of those tables and transform into Sailor Moon!//  
  
//How do I do that?// Usagi asked, confused and angry.  
  
//That's right, you slept through the whole thing. Take the broach you're wearing, hold it and shout out the words that come to your mind. It will do the rest. Then you have to get out there and save Naru.//  
  
//Okay.// She dove under the table and fumbled for the broach she hadn't remembered putting on. "Moon Prism Power, MAKE-UP!"  
  
The standard transformation scene followed (listen, if you don't know what it is, how did you ever make it through 5 chapters of this story without getting totally confused?). Soon Sailor Moon walked the earth for the first time... again. She rolled out from under the table and assessed the situation.  
  
//Now remember what I told you about speeches. You want to get his attention from the side so he has to stop watching Naru, so sprint over there,// Serenity directed her eyes down an aisle. //Quickly now, before he drains her too much.//  
  
Usagi was eager to comply, having heard the scream of agony that Naru had just uttered. She darted down the indicated aisle and soon had the beast in her sights.  
  
//Shout something at it to get it's attention. Then give it a speech, doesn't matter what just make sure it's about half a minute long.//  
  
//Err... Why?//  
  
//Didn't you listen to anything I told you earlier? It buys you some time in which to examine your foe.//  
  
//Yeah, but it makes me look like an idiot!//  
  
//Of course, that's just an added bonus. If your enemy thinks you're an idiot, they can get overconfident or angry that you dare to challenge them. Either way works to your advantage.//  
  
"Hold it right there!" she shouted. She was relieved to see that the pale white glow that had stretched between the thing's fist and Naru faded out as it shifted its attention to her. Well, not too relieved since it was now staring straight at her. Searching frantically for something to yell, she seized the first thing that came to mind.  
  
"You who would destroy a young girl who's only crime was to be amongst pretty things, with hopes and dreams for her future, should beware. I am the Pretty Suited Soldier of Love, Sailor Moon! In the name of the Moon, I will punish you!" The entire speech was coupled with a series of bizarre hand gestures that she hadn't consciously done.  
  
//Not bad, but you could use a little work.// The beast roared in rage and lifted one of it's hands above it's head. //There, see how angry it is? This isn't one of the brighter ones, it seems.//  
  
//Was that a good idea?//  
  
//With a big villan, it wouldn't be, but this is just a third rate henchman.// Black lightning began to crackle around the thing's right fist. //Okay, it's forming an energy bolt. When you she his hand start to move, dive to the right and roll. Any attack that comes from a hand or arm has more trouble tracking if the arm has to move across they body to do it.//  
  
The massive fist swung forward and a spitting beam of black energy slammed into the spot where Sailor Moon had been standing a full second and a half before.  
  
//You've got to work on your response time. Get up, fast as you can.//  
  
Usagi groaned as she threw herself to her feet. //What now?//  
  
//It got overconfident and tried to finish you off with one shot. Now it's weakened after putting out so much energy in one go. See how it's chest is designed?// Serenity made Usagi look at the very center of it's chest carapace which was slightly discolored. //That's the most likely weak spot. Remove your tiara and say the words that come to you.//  
  
Sailor Moon removed her tiara and recited the words to turn it into a blazing disc of energy.  
  
//Aim for that weak spot!// Serenity offered as a final piece of advice.  
  
The shot was straight and true and the monster was soon just so much dust.  
  
//Good job! You're learning fast. I certainly had a rougher time on my first youma.//  
  
Usagi groaned a bit in pain from the bruises caused by her headlong dive. //You mean there are going to be more of those... things?//  
  
//Yeah, but they get easier after the first few. Now crawl under a table or something and reverse the transform... well, look who decided to join us.//  
  
Sailors Venus and Jupiter rounded the corner at a run and skidded to a halt in front of Sailor Moon.  
  
"Sorry we're late," Venus stammered, "but SOMEone couldn't remember how to get out transformation pens."  
  
"Let's just get out of these fukus and make sure that Naru's okay."  
  
//Isn't there some way we can be super heros without the drafty uniforms?//  
  
//What? And lose the distraction factor of Mina-chan's legs?//  
  


* * *

  
Naru woke up slowly, her head hurt but at least she was alive. Being alive had a lot more value attached to it when you get a good, clear look at death.  
  
"Naru-chan? Feeling better?" Usagi's voice cut through the fog in her head and she opened her eyes. Her friend was kneeling down beside her, holding her hand.  
  
"Usagi-chan? What happened?"  
  
"Some strange monster attacked you and a bunch of other people, but somebody managed to kill it."  
  
"Girl in a sailor fuku with blond hair?" Naru asked groggily.  
  
"Yeah, that's what the witnesses say. Feel up to getting some ice cream still? The people it hit before you are going to the hospital, but it didn't get as much of a chance to do whatever it was doing to you."  
  
"Uhhh... I think I just want to lay here for a while. I'm sooooo tired."  
  
"I guess I'll sit with you for a while, then," she replied with a smile. She raised her head and called to her two new friends. "Mina-chan, Mako-chan, why don't you two go ahead without us? I'll see you tomorrow at school."  
  
The two other girls agreed and departed.  
  
"Usagi-chan? Who killed that... thing?"  
  
"I have no idea... Maybe she's some kind of government agent?"  
  
"A government agent assigned to hunt down monsters?" Naru chuckled softly at the idea. "Sounds like you've been reading too much manga."  
  


* * *

  
In the shadow of a second floor window, Tuxedo Kamen leaned back against a support and watched Usagi tend to Naru.  
  
//Serenity's giving her tips, I see,// Endymion's voice rang out in his head.  
  
//How can you tell?//  
  
//Simple, most of the time she got into a fight in my world, I got there well before it was over. She took that thing out fast and hard.//  
  
//What does that mean for me?//  
  
//That means that we're going to have to do some training on our own. It's best if you don't get involved in their fights as part of the team. That way there's backup in case of a trap.//  
  
//Sound advice. So what should we practice first?//  
  
//Simple. We have a rather unique ability in that we can manifest our emotions into physical objects. It works best with warm feelings.//  
  
Tuxedo Kamen vaulted his way onto the roof of the building.  
  
//Now,// Endymion's voice continued. //Remember the love you felt for Princess Serenity in your past life. It's still there for her now, so all you have to do is will it into a physical form?//  
  
//What kind of physical form?//  
  
//Try a rose. A red rose.//  
  


* * *

  
Elsewhere in the city, a blue-black cat was wandering the streets aimlessly.  
  
She was searching for something... something that she couldn't quite remember. It had to do with the Moon, but other than that, she was at a loss.  
  
Things weren't going well. The cut paw was just making things worse.  
  
//Never should have tried to climb that fence,// she cursed herself as she limped out of an alley. She sank to her haunches and did her best to not put any weight on her injured foot. //I'll just rest here for a while before I move on...//  
  


* * *

  
Mizuno Ami was walking home late. Of course, she always walked home late. It was rare that her cram school sessions ended before dark, and even then, she sometimes stayed after for a while to use the computer systems.  
  
She had her own computer at home, sure, but it didn't have anywhere near the power of the network at school. Studying to be a doctor was one thing, but she had found a secondary passion in programming.  
  
//If only,// she thought. //If only I had the time to do both.//  
  
She sighed heavily and came to a sudden stop as she spotted something golden lying near the mouth of an alley. Curious, she bent to pick it up and found that it wasn't real gold, after all.  
  
It was a shining crescent on the forehead of a dark blue cat that had fallen asleep just inside the alleyway. The cat itself had been almost invisible in the darkness. Looking closer, she noticed two things: it wasn't wearing a collar and its paw was hurt.  
  
Normally, Ami wasn't the kind of person to pick up a stray cat, but this one was injured and she had a soft spot for those in pain.  
  
Gently, she stroked the creature, hoping to bring it around and find out if it was tame or not. It wouldn't do to take home a wild animal.  
  
The cat stirred at her touch and rubbed back against her hand. //Well, at least it's tame. Probably someone's pet.//  
  
She bent to scoop the cat up. //I'll just take it home and tend to that paw. Then it'll be time to look for it's owner, it's far too tame not to be someone's pet.//  
  


* * *

  
Hino Rei had gotten the feeling that something was up when her grandfather had given her the train ticket. He had been planning on visiting the Masaki Shrine in a nearby province, but a visiting ambassador had decided to include the Hikawa Shrine in his tour of Tokyo.  
  
Strangely enough, he had decided that she might as well go on the trip in his place.  
  
Rei's older half thought this was probably the work of Pluto. The Hikawa Shrine wasn't unknown, but most important visitors to Tokyo preferred to see the larger shrines in other areas of the city. It wouldn't have been hard to arrange, either.  
  
Rei held her doubts about that until she found the envelope in her room. Inside were five more tickets for the same train and a note with a name and address.  
  
She sighed. Then she began to wonder who the sixth ticket was meant for. 


	7. No Need for Witty Titles!

A great change had come over Luna by the time she woke up. For one thing, she now could remember a lot more of her mission, though parts were still hazy.  
  
Her paw didn't hurt anywhere near as much, either, since someone had bandaged the wound. Without too much trouble, she got to her feet and began the process of finding out who her benefactor was and exactly where she was.  
  
She soon found out that the answer to the later was inside a cardboard box. Well, it was really half a box that had been filled with an old blanket. The whole affair was sitting in the floor of a rather small and extremely neat bedroom, hence the bed that was taking up most of the available area.  
  
She limped lightly around the room, searching for an exit but found that the window was latched and the doorknob too high for her to leap to with an injured foot.  
  
That avenue closed, she decided that she should at least find out who had brought her here. With a careful leap, she surmounted the bed.  
  
The bed was, perhaps, the only item in the room that wasn't neat and ordered. The blue haired girl in the middle of it seemed to have wrestled the sheets to a standstill before going to sleep.  
  
After a few seconds of examination, Luna reached a conclusion.  
  
"This girl may be the one I'm looking for. She's radiating some strange energy, but it's not malevolent." Luna had taken to muttering to herself when she was alone, a bad habit, but not one that was easy to break.  
  
Briefly, she considered waking the girl and having a long talk. Maybe even getting some answers about what the energy emanations were, but discarded the idea in favor of a "wait and see" attitude. And some more sleep.  
  


* * *

  
Mizuno Ami awake early, as usual. She stretched and yawned lethargically, allowing herself a moment's laziness before launching into the day.  
  
Quickly and methodically, she made her bed and gathered her school clothes before taking a moment out to check on the stray she had picked up the night before. To her satisfaction, the cat seemed to be resting comfortably.  
  
With professional precision, she stripped off the old bandage, cleaned the wound again, and applied a new one.  
  
"There, that's better." The cat, for her part, just watched intently as she went about her task, almost as if she knew what was going on.  
  
Ami admired her handiwork for a second. "We'll have to see about finding your owner soon. You're far too pretty to be a stray." The cat started purring. "My, and so intelligent, too. If I didn't know better, I'd almost swear that you could understand every word that I say."  
  


* * *

  
Usagi and Serenity, meanwhile, were having a bad morning. Naru hadn't shown up to walk to school with them and they walking alone, locked into an internal argument.  
  
Sore and bruised from last night's fighting, Usagi wasn't in the mood for "Drill Sergeant Serenity" and her constant lectures on how she should act. Things came to a head when she complained one too many times about how much her back hurt.  
  
//That's it!// Serenity announced. //You are far too out of shape. You're going to be having regular training sessions starting today. There is no way you should be this tired after such a short fight.//  
  
//Hey, I don't want to be fighting in the first place!// Usagi snapped back. Her annoyance had been growing for a couple days, but was only now beginning to override her normal good nature. //I am NOT going to start any "training program" that you happen to dream up. This is MY life, dammit.//  
  
//I am just trying to make your life easier,// Serenity growled. //If you spend just a few hours a week working on your skills, battles will be much easier for you and you won't get hurt as much.//  
  
//Don't you get it? I don't plan on fighting anything! I don't want to be a stupid superhero! The only reason that I did anything last night was to protect Naru-chan.//  
  
//You don't have a choice. You have to fight.//  
  
//Like hell I do! I'm making my choice right now. I'm not going to go along with anything.//  
  
//You can't do that. If you refuse to fight, they'll end up hurting someone you care about, like Naru. Like your mother.//  
  
//That's low. Bringing my mother into this. But that doesn't matter to you, does it? All you care about is getting me to fight your stupid little war. Listen to me: I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT. Got that?//  
  
//Don't you remember the fall of the Silver Millennium? Do you remember what they did? What it was like? Just because you won't fight them doesn't mean that they will stop attacking. Without you to stand in their way, they will win this time. Millions upon millions were killed in the last war, and they didn't win. What will it be like this time? How many billions will they kill?//  
  
//Let someone else do the fighting!//  
  
Serenity sighed mentally. //Okay, I know how you feel. I felt that way too, once.// Her voice seemed weaker now, bereft of it's earlier anger. //But believe me, if you don't take responsibility for this war, if you don't accept the fact that YOU are the one that has to fight it, the results could be terrible.//  
  
//I still don't see why I have to be the one.//  
  
//When I first became Sailor Moon, I didn't know that I was the Moon Princess as well. I always thought that I was just doing the job till she showed up and took over. Luna tried to get me to take things seriously, but I didn't. So much happened... so much pain...// She trailed off sadly.  
  
//But that was you, this is me.//  
  
//We're the same? Don't you see that? I want you to do what I never would. I want to spare you that pain! Please, just listen to me.//  
  
//I can handle myself.//  
  
Serenity was silent for a long moment. //I hope you can forgive me, but I won't let you make the same mistakes that I did. I tried to handle it by myself...//  
  
//What are you going to do?// Usagi asked, more than a little worried.  
  
//I'm going to show you how things worked out for me.// Serenity reached inside herself and latched onto the memories of the battle she had waged against the Dark Kingdom in her own life and began to spin them steadily into Usagi's mind. She took particular care to point out her mistakes, as she had done many times in her own recollections.  
  
She had already vowed that Usagi was to have the final choice in anything like this, but she couldn't let her make that decision without knowing what the consequences would be if she chose a path similar to the one Serenity had tried to take. And so she spun the memories.  
  
On and on they went, Usagi had stopped walking and now just stared into space, transfixed by the images and sounds that flooded her. Mistake after mistake, error after error. All of Serenity's misjudgements were spelled out before her. Every misstep, every lapse in discipline. Right up to the final battle... and death. Horrible, horrible death.  
  
Surrounded by the stench of it, the worst, most terrifying part of it all was the firm, cold knowledge that this was all her fault. She had put being a normal girl ahead of the lives of her friends... her loved ones. She had killed them as surely as their enemies had.  
  
These last visions were too much and Usagi tried to break free from Serenity's control. To flee this terrible parade of death and mistakes. But she couldn't. Serenity was determined to finish what she had begun and held Usagi's mind firmly.  
  
As the last memory faded out, she quickly moved to blur Usagi's recollections of the more gruesome scenes, leaving her with only the memory of her revulsion at something that had happened to Serenity. The whole thing was probably a bad idea, but it was an act of desperation.  
  
//Now do you understand? Do you see why you can't just walk away? What will happen?//  
  
//Y..Yes,// Usagi replied unsteadily.  
  
Serenity sighed. She was really beginning to hate herself for ruining Usagi's innocence, but what other choice did she have? At this rate, she had another three or four years, tops, before she was either dead or was forced to go "all the way" and become the Neo-Queen. At least, maybe this way, she could trade away her innocence in small parcels and make it last a little longer.  
  
It had to be better than facing the Ice. Anything would be better than that.  
  


* * *

  
Ami's walk to school was much more sedate, if no less important to future events. Behind her, unseen, Luna stalked quietly. It had been a rather difficult maneuver to slip out the door without being seen, but she had managed it.  
  
Now she was stealthily following Ami in hopes that a chance to reveal herself would arise. As they arrived at school, she secreted herself in a tree with a good view of the entrance and prepared to wait. After a while, other students started wandering into the building.  
  
Some time after she had settled in, a blond girl with a vaguely familiar hairstyle trudged despondently into the courtyard. She was obviously late, as the courtyard was totally deserted, but she didn't seem to care. It was almost as if she had bigger things to worry about.  
  
Luna snapped herself out of her musings. She wasn't here to worry about the blond girl, even though she could swear that she had seen that double bun hair style before... somewhere... anyway, she was here to watch the blue haired girl.  
  
Watch and wait for something to happen. She didn't know what that something was, yet, but was sure she would know it when she saw it.  
  


* * *

  
Ami, for her part, had the feeling that someone had been following her, but every time she turned around, there was no one there. Eventually she decided to ignore it and get on to class. Time was wasting.  
  
She found her seat in the empty room and almost immediately immersed herself in a text on advanced particle physics. Over the next half hour or so, students slowly drifted in, and she was forced to stop her reading as class started.  
  
Things went as usual, Ami watching intently as the teacher tried to teach the students some simple piece of knowledge or another. Of course, Ami had already mastered whatever was being taught, but she enjoyed hearing about it again. She was funny that way.  
  
Fifteen minutes after class stared, Tsukino Usagi wandered in. That alone was enough to capture Ami's attention. Even for the Tsukino girl, fifteen minutes was unusual, and the look on her face showed that something serious was going on.  
  
Ms. Haruna looked up from the book she had been reading from and moved over to the latecomer. After a short, whispered conversation, Usagi nodded her head slightly and turned to leave the room.  
  
Ami watched it all, puzzled. Perhaps she had been sent to the nurse if she wasn't feeling well.  
  
Either way, it was really none of her concern and class was underway again.  
  


* * *

  
Usagi was confused and disoriented to say the least. The visions that her future self had filled her with had been traumatic, of course, but now she was wrestling with something else. She was trying to come to terms with the one decision that Serenity claimed had caused all of her grief.  
  
To fight. She had to decide to fight. More than that, she had to accept it and train for it. Serenity had shown her that no matter how much she tried to run from it, no matter how hard she tried to hide herself, this was her battle.  
  
Ms. Haruna had sent her to the nurse and she just let herself drift there on autopilot. Serenity appeared to have retreated to some unknown recess of her brain to let her mull things over. The nurse, apparently sensing her distress, led her to a quiet bed in the back of the office.  
  
She didn't hate Serenity. No, she was doing what she thought was right, and it WAS right. It was also painful and not a decision that Usagi wanted to make. If nothing else, the memories had proven to her that Serenity was, indeed, the same person as she was.  
  
She claimed that she wanted to make Usagi's life easier by making her a better fighter, a better tactician. Thoughts and possibilities swirled through her head for a long time, Serenity staying silent. This was Usagi's decision, she had said.  
  
It was then that she heard the screams. Something inside her clicked and she was out of the bed in an instant. The decision to fight had been made.  
  


* * *

  
The day had flowed along normally until lunchtime. But Usagi hadn't come back to class, which was starting to make Makoto worry. She hardly knew the girl, but she was nice and they were teammates now. She had every right to worry.  
  
She looked over at Minako who returned her concerned glance. They would go check on her as soon as lunch started, since they couldn't think up any good excuses to get out of class. Naru, the only one who could have convinced Ms. Haruna that she was concerned for Usagi, was absent, but that was only to be expected after being on the receiving end of a youma drain.  
  
They had talked over the battle a couple times and come to the conclusion that these were the same type of low-grade youma that Sailor V had fought in England. Apparently, they were the first line of attack used by the Dark Kingdom, and their tactics certainly matched.  
  
Time drifted slowly into lunch and they wasted no time in making their way to the nurse's office. Just as Minako was reaching for the handle, however, screams rang out from the courtyard. They glanced down the hallway to be sure they were alone and summoned their transformation pens.  
  
Only an instant after the lights faded, Sailor Venus was flattened against the wall by Sailor Moon, who had just thrown open the door to the infirmary.  
  
Sailor Moon skidded to a stop when she heard the thump and closed the door.  
  
"Sailor Moon," Venus began. "I really wish you wouldn't slam open doors like that." She got to her feet and gave Usagi a faint grin. "You're supposed to let out enemies beat me up, not do it yourself."  
  
"No," Sailor Moon's face was serious. "I'm supposed to stop them from hurting anyone. That includes you."  
  
"Sailor Moon," Jupiter began from behind her. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Yeah," she let a grim smile settle on her face, "I'm fine. I just had to get my priorities in order. Hey, what are we doing standing around here and talking for? Let's go dust a youma!"  
  
The others nodded, still vaguely confused by Usagi's change in demeanor, but followed her into the courtyard, anyway.  
  


* * *

  
Ami was under her customary tree, eating a sandwich and reading some English novel to try to brush up her foreign language skills. That wasn't unusual, but the large booth set up on the other side of the courtyard was.  
  
Some organization that provided school lunches was test marketing a new entree and passing out pins embossed with their logos. Most of the time, the lunches sold at school were made locally, but the demand for bought food in a neighborhood as attached to the bento box as Juuban was so low that the school was considering letting an outside company handle it. It would certainly help save money.  
  
This was an effort to see if the students would actually approve of this company. Apparently, it was apparently going over well since there was a constant stream of students in and out of the company's booth. Of course, that could be just because they were offering free food.  
  
The line died down after about five minutes, the company having been ready to feed everyone if it proved necessary. That was when the screaming started.  
  
Each student that had one of the pins that had been given out with the lunches began to feel his or her life force slip away. Soon the courtyard was littered with unconscious bodies as more than half the student body of Juuban was dropped in one fell swoop.  
  
Ami hurriedly put away her book and scrambled behind her tree. Carefully peeking at the booth, she saw the cook and her assistant shimmer and become black, scaled... things that began draining the students who hadn't fallen for the free lunch ploy.  
  
Ami cast about, looking for a way out, when she noticed the cat she had brought home the night before. It was slinking toward her through the grass, only slightly favoring it's wounded paw.  
  
"Listen, there isn't any time to explain," the cat said, much to Ami's amazement. "You've got to transform and fight those things before they do any serious damage to the students!" The cat jumped into the air and did a backflip, producing a blue wand. "Here," the cat said through clenched teeth, her paw causing her a lot of pain, "take this and say the words that form in your mind!"  
  
Ami did as directed. "Mercury Planet Power, MAKE-UP!" Soon she was cocooned in light and bubbles. When it all faded away, she found herself in a shortened version of a school uniform. A draftier version, too.  
  
She stepped out from behind the tree and shouted at the monsters. "Stop! I won't let you do this to innocent students who just want to learn!"  
  
One of the students lying nearby, only half conscious, muttered, "Just wanted... free... food..."  
  
Sailor Mercury shot him an icy glare and continued. "In the name of Mercury, I will punish you!"  
  
The monster decided that it'd had enough and fired an energy beam at the annoyance.  
  
Swiftly, Mercury dodged out of the way and came to her feet only slightly unsteady. She gathered her breath and readied to launch an attack of her own. Somehow she knew that she had one, just waiting to be unleashed.  
  
"Shabon SPRAY!" she exclaimed. Soon the battlefield was filled with a screen of bubbles, severely hampering visibility.  
  
"Umm... did that get them?" she asked a little uncertainly, look toward the vague outline of the talking cat.  
  
Luna, meanwhile, was cursing herself. She had just sent the only Senshi with no offensive abilities into combat against two angry youma. "No, Sailor Mercury, get out of here! Those things won't be fooled by this for long."  
  
Mercury, not having much experience with her powers, didn't know how to keep the attack running for more than a few seconds. She quietly slipped along the tree line to another hiding place in hopes that the monsters wouldn't catch up to her. The speech, she decided, had definitely been a bad idea.  
  
Just as her bubble screen began to dissipate, she heard new voices shouting. "You who would destroy these innocent students who merely dreamed of a free lunch, I am the Pretty Soldier of Love and Justice, Sailor Moon! In the name of the Moon, I will punish you."  
  
"In the name of Venus," another voice rang out. "I will punish you!"  
  
"In the name of Jupiter," yet another voice added. "I will punish you!"  
  
A short series of shouts and attacks later, the enemies had dissolved into nothingness.  
  
Sailor Mercury came out of hiding as the three other Sailors walked over to her.  
  
"Well, where is she?" the one in the blue skirt asked.  
  
"Umm... who are you looking for?" Mercury asked.  
  
"Luna. Black cat about this tall? Talks?"  
  
"Oh, her. She was behind that tree over there the last time I saw her." She indicated the tree where she'd been eating her lunch.  
  
"Okay, you three go on and get back to class or something, I need to have a little talk with Luna. Seriously, what did she think she was doing sending Sailor Mercury into battle alone." She frowned and then looked back at her companions. "Explain things to her, please. If Luna did the same job on her memories as last time, she's probably wondering what's going on. Meeting tonight at five. We'll talk later."  
  
With that, Sailor Moon stalked off to have a little talk with a cat.  
  
"Is she," Mercury asked, "always like that?"  
  
The one in the orange skirt looked at her, her brow crinkled in puzzlement. "Nope. She's usually a little more relaxed." 


	8. No, Really, No Need for Witty Titles!

Ten'ou Haruka rounded the corner at what would have been an insane speed for anyone of lesser skills. For her, it was mildly uncomfortable, but speed was of the essence. Seeing that the road ahead was straight for a moment, she spared a glance toward the unconscious form in the passenger seat.  
  
Professor Tomoe's face was blackened by soot from the fire that had destroyed his laboratory, and his clothing was ripped and torn in many places. A makeshift bandage, soaked through with blood, covered the light wound that a piece of debris had made in his side. Fortunately, he had been rendered unconscious by the initial blasts Uranus had thrown into the lab, and hadn't really been able to fight back so that the gash in his side was the only real injury he had sustained.  
  
In the back seat, Kaiou Michiru was tending the professor's daughter, Hotaru. She had been catatonic when they had arrived at the mansion, and Michiru suspected that it was because of an internal battle between Mistress 9 and the Hotaru from their world. Not that she had any proof, mind you, but it was as good a theory as any. Much to her shock, she had found this Hotaru to be a cyborg.  
  
It was obvious from the moment she had picked her up that this wasn't the sickly little girl that they had first met in their world. Perhaps this Hotaru had been more damaged by the accident than theirs and this was the way her father had chosen to keep her alive.  
  
Not that it really mattered right now, they were on their way to some place way out in the Okayama Prefecture, several hours from Tokyo, where Pluto had said they would find help. What kind of help, she didn't say, but now wasn't the time to be arguing.  
  
The sun was already drooping below the horizon by the time Haruka skidded to a stop. They had arrived. Not that there was much to look at, just a small gravel parking lot with a black van in it and a long set of stairs stretching away up a mountain.  
  
The sign beside the stairs proclaimed them to be at the "Masaki Shrine." Well, a shrine was a decent place to go for an exorcism, after all.  
  
"Okay, how are we going to handle this?" Haruka asked.  
  
Michiru thought about it for a moment. "I'll run up and see if I can't find this "Washuu" person. You stay with these two."  
  
Haruka nodded solemnly and watched as Michiru climbed the stairs and was soon hidden from view by the trees. Turning back to her charges, she opened the passenger door and wrestled the Professor out of the car and onto a flat patch of ground. She checked his wound and removed the gory bandage, which she replaced with a clean handkerchief. He still hadn't regained consciousness, and that was beginning to worry her, though she might have had to kill him if he did.  
  
Then she flipped the passenger seat forward and pulled Hotaru out and onto the ground a short distance from her father. Haruka frowned at the prospect of having to carry the half robotic girl up a long series of stairs. She was REALLY heavy.  
  
//Do you know this Washuu person?// she asked herself. Well, her other self, the one that seemed to be from the future of some other world or something.  
  
//I've heard the name before... just a rumor though. She was apparently a scientific genius or something who vanished a few thousand years before the dawn of the Crystal Millennium. If this is the same person, I'm surprised to find her on Earth, of all places.//  
  
Haruka nodded. //I wonder how Pluto knows her.//  
  
//Probably met her fifty years from now or something and keeps coming back in time to pester her. You know how Pluto can be sometimes.//  
  
//What? You mean the way that you're never certain if the last meeting you had with her has already happened or not? I know what you mean.//  
  
//Exactly.//  
  
//I wish Michiru would hurry up and get back, this waiting is killing me.//  
  
//You're too impatient. Calm down a bit, it'll do you good.//  
  
//I still hate waiting. I wish I was driving right now.//  
  
//Tell you what, when this is over, we'll go to the track and I'll show you how it's done.  
  


* * *

  
Michiru, herself, was wishing that she was back already. The stairs flattened into a walkway after a few hundred feet and carrot fields replaced the dense forest that had covered the base of the stairway.  
  
Fortunately, there was someone working in the fields and she decided that he would probably be able to help her.  
  
She called to him and the young man looked up from his work and waved to her. He shouldered his hoe and walked across the field to the walkway.  
  
"Hello, can I help you?" He spoke in a cheerful tone, but she could tell that he was tense for some reason.  
  
"Yes, I'm looking for Washuu." Michiru watched in puzzlement as his smile wavered.  
  
"Great, why can't we ever have normal visitors," he muttered so quietly that she almost didn't hear it.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Oh, nothing. You don't want to kill her or anything, do you? The last time someone showed up looking for her, they almost destroyed the house."  
  
"Oh, no, a friend of ours told us that she could help us with a little problem we were having."  
  
"'Us?'"  
  
"Yes, my friends are waiting at the car. We thought it would be easier to just go get Washuu and take her down there." Michiru was having a hard time making it sound like she actually knew what she was talking about, but she kept up the effort.  
  
"Oh, well, I was about to quit here, anyway. Let's go on up to the house." He turned and began along the path again. She followed and soon they were climbing more stairs.  
  


* * *

  
Lady Mercury pushed away from the console and turned to Kiyone. "We'll be there in about three hours. Gather up anything that you're going to need before I prepare the ship for impact."  
  
"Um," Kiyone gave her a doubting look. "Don't you mean landing?"  
  
"This ship isn't designed to land on planetary surfaces. And since my scans are showing no space ports in the area of Earth..."  
  
"Oh, that's just great. What else can happen?"  
  
Sometimes it's best to keep your mouth shut.  
  


* * *

  
Washuu was a lot... shorter than Michiru had expected. Younger, too. In fact, she had almost convinced herself that Pluto had made a mistake. When they arrived at the house, they had found about a small group of women sitting on the porch and eating watermelon, Washuu among them.  
  
One of the women, the one with purple hair done into twin ponytails, stood up at their approach and called a greeting to the young man, his name was Tenchi, who had lead Michiru to the house. Another girl with spiked cyan hair tackled Tenchi.  
  
"Hello, Tenchi, you're back early! Who is your guest?" she asked. If elder Michiru hadn't been as experienced in reading emotions, she would have never noticed the hint of suspicion in the young woman's voice. And anger, but that was mostly directed at the woman currently sitting on top of Tenchi.  
  
"Errr..." Tenchi looked a bit nervously, trying to get the girl to let him up. "I don't really know. She says that she's looking for Washuu."  
  
Washuu looked up at the sound of her name. "Oh! That's right, you're one of the ones Setsuna-chan said she was sending!" She looked around for a second or two. "Shouldn't there be more of you?" Ayeka and the other girl had started an argument by this point, but no one except Tenchi seemed to notice so Michiru just ignored it.  
  
"Yes, Ms. Washuu," Michiru answered. //Setsuna-chan? Well, I just hope that she's really able to help us.// "My friends are at the bottom of the stairs. Two of them aren't able to walk and we didn't feel that we could carry them up the stairs. We were-"  
  
"I'll help you. But only on one condition," she announced. A couple of the other people on the porch groaned slightly, having heard this ploy before.  
  
Michiru felt a shiver of fear. Conditions were never good in dealings like this, especially when there wasn't much choice. "Alright, what's your price?"  
  
"Would you please... Could you... Call me little Washuu?"  
  
Michiru almost fell over with laughter and relief. "Of course, Little Washuu! You really had me going there for a minute." Washuu smiled.  
  
"Hey, Ryoko!" the pink haired girl shouted. "Why don't you do your mother a favor and go help this young lady's friends to the house?"  
  
The one called Ryoko broke off her argument and turned to face Washuu. "Aw, mom, do I have to?"  
  
//Mom?// Michiru thought. //Well, I've seen stranger things before. Maybe she's the reincarnation of someone, too.//  
  
"Yes. And do be careful, please. I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt." For some reason, that sounded ominous.  
  


* * *

  
Washuu's laboratory was amazing. Not only was it larger than the entire house, but the equipment was equal to or better than anything that the Crystal Millennium had to offer. For the first time since she had been introduced to Washuu, Michiru was starting to feel that she might actually be the help they had been seeking.  
  
"So, what did you need my help for? Setsuna-chan seems to make a special effort to not be helpful." Washuu had taken up a seat on a floating cushion and was giving Michiru a calculating look.  
  
"Well, a couple of our friends are possessed by beings from space..."  
  
"Oh, is that it?" Washuu snorted at the simpleness of the task. "I thought this was going to be something worthy of the Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe."  
  
"And I have someone else inside my head that claims to be me from 1500 years in the future or another world or something like that."  
  
"Hmm...." Washuu began walking around her slowly. "Now, THAT sounds interesting." She began to type into a shadowy terminal that manifested in thin air. "Yes, I see... your astral signature is doubled up and one half has a different temporal signature... and dimensional signature, too."  
  
Michiru began to feel uncomfortable, almost like a lab specimen.  
  
"And you wanted me to fix this for you?"  
  
"Um, yes, that would be really nice of you... Little Washuu."  
  
Washuu beamed. "Of course! So, do you want me to clone another body for the other mind, send it back to where it came from, or just destroy it altogether?"  
  
Michiru laughed nervously. "Another body will be fine."  
  
Washuu typed rapidly for a while. "Yes, this should be easy."  
  
There was a whooshing sound as someone used the combination elevator and teleportation device to enter the lab. "Put them over there, Ryoko, dear," Washuu called out without even looking up. Haruka moved up behind Michiru and placed a hand on her shoulder.  
  
Grumbling the whole way, Ryoko carried both Professor Tomoe and Hotaru over to a pair of tables that had just materialized. Moving reasonably gently, she placed one on each slab and then turned to the scientist. "Is that all, MOM?" She made the title seem almost like an accusation.  
  
"Oh, yes, why don't you run off and go play or something," Washuu replied, not paying any attention to her daughter.  
  
Ryoko glowered at her mother for a moment before she drifted out of the room via the teleporter.  
  
"Strange people," Haruka whispered to Michiru.  
  
"We're not exactly normal, you know," she replied.  
  
"Hmm..." Washuu said as she looked up from her work. "We just need to perform a few tests before I'm ready to split you. Oh, will your friend be requiring the same service as well?"  
  
"Um, yes, but could you please take a look at Hotaru and Professor Tomoe first? They are the ones that need immediate attention."  
  
"Of course, then I have a few tests I'd like to run."  
  
"Tests?" Somehow, Michiru knew that she was going to want to hurt Setsuna by the time they got out of there.  
  


* * *

  
Mercury's ship was now in orbit around Earth, much to Kiyone's disappointment.  
  
Mercury was bent over the communications terminal trying to decide where to "land." "Hmm... what do you make of this?" she asked Kiyone.  
  
Kiyone glanced over the data scrolling across the screen. "Looks like the identity beacon of a Galaxy Police ship."  
  
Mercury nodded. "It's only a few hundred miles from Tokyo, so we might as well land there."  
  
Kiyone sighed. That meant that she would see Mihoshi again all the sooner. //Maybe she's better by now. Yeah, I was out for quite a while, she may be through with it already. I hope.// She forced herself to believe that and smile.  
  
"Alright, we're ready for final approach." Mercury brought the ship about and into the atmosphere. The outer hull began to soften and run upward until the ship was almost teardrop shaped.  
  
"What's happening to this ship?" Kiyone asked, extremely worried.  
  
"Oh, it's falling apart. It's not meant to take the heat of reentry and the systems that maintain the ice of the outer hull are shutting down."  
  
"Ice? You mean that this ship is made of ice? That's crazy!"  
  
Mercury shrugged. "I happen to like ice. Besides, the interior is made of metal." She pressed a complicated sequence into the terminal before her and the walls seemed to surge forward as they were sucked into it. Soon, the interior of the ship had become a hollow cavity of ice.  
  
"All the major technological components that make up the ship are stored in subspace pockets and the control circuitry is micronized into a handy carrying case. I just take the systems with me and make a new hull whenever I need it. It's quite convenient."  
  
"Wait a minute, does that mean that the only thing left between us and solid ground is air and ice?"  
  
Mercury smirked. "Yep. Here, put this on." She handed Kiyone the case that had once been the nerve center of the ship. It had two heavy-duty straps that allowed it to be worn as a backpack along with several knobs and dials. The whole thing only weighed about fifty pounds or so. "It has a grav chute feature. Just push the red button on the left strap to activate it."  
  
"Isn't that dangerous with all this ice around? Hey, and what about you?"  
  
"I'll be fine, and the ice can be removed. Tell me when you're ready."  
  
Kiyone hurriedly put on the pack and found the red button. "Okay, this is nuts but I'm ready."  
  
Mercury produced a wand from nowhere and held it up before her. "Mercury Planet Eternal, MAKE-UP!" In a whirlwind of lights and feathers, Mercury's clothing dissolved and was replaced by a blue- skirted outfit with a pair of small wings on the back.  
  
"You expect to land with those little wings? You really are insane."  
  
"No, I expect to fly by force of will. The wings are just symbolic."  
  
Mercury looked around quickly. "Okay, push that button as soon as I dissolve the ice."  
  
Kiyone nodded her readiness and Mercury willed the ice to liquefy. Soon they were falling freely from several thousand feet above the earth amidst a rapidly thinning cloud of water droplets.  
  
Kiyone pressed the red button and felt a gentle tugging as the chute took hold and slowed her downward acceleration. Mercury matched speed with her precisely and soon they spotted their objective. A large lake by a house and, a bit farther away, a small shrine.  
  


* * *

  
"Hmm... this one is interesting. She has three distinct astral patterns. Two look like the same, but the third is... hmm... it's not from earth, I know that much." Washuu turned from her study of Hotaru and looked at Michiru, radiating cute innocence. "You want the two that are terrestrial in origin, right? Can I keep the other one?"  
  
Michiru shifted nervously. Haruka looked at her and shrugged. "Do you mean Mistress 9?" Michiru finally answered. "She's extremely dangerous... but you can keep her if think you can contain her, I guess." //After all, if you can do what you say you can, she shouldn't prove too much of a problem.//  
  
Washuu smiled broadly. "Thanks! Now I just have to get the other two out of there..."  
  
She clipped a few hairs from Hotaru's head and dropped them into a hyperspacial hole. "Just run a few quick scans... there." Another table slid out of hyperspace with a nude Hotaru clone on it. Washuu pushed a couple more buttons and a pair of helmets dropped from the ceiling.  
  
She affixed one to each Hotaru and went back to typing for several minutes. There was a crackle of electricity and then both Hotarus' eyes fluttered open. Cyber Hotaru, now only Mistress 9, screamed in general outrage and tried to leap off the table. An invisible force field snapped her back into place and her attempts at blasting her way free met with no success, either.  
  
Washuu smiled broadly. "You'll get your chance to play, later. Why don't you go play with the tribbles?" She cackled maniacally and the table vanished into the floor, presumably bound for a room filled with furry softballs.  
  
The other Hotaru, meanwhile, jumped from the table and shouted, "Michiru-mama!" Then she threw herself at Michiru in a fierce hug.  
  
Washuu looked back to the other, naked, girl and started typing again. "The patterns in that body seem to have mixed somewhat during the transfer... They shouldn't be too hard separate again, but she's not going to be herself until I get a chance to fix it."  
  
Michiru, who hadn't been subjected to a full-blow glomp in a long time or at all, depending on which mind you asked, could only nod. Haruka smirked slightly at her lover's distress, but couldn't help feeling relieved that Hotaru was alright. Both of her.  
  
"Now it's time for you two," Washuu began, a maniacal glint in her eyes. "Since there seems to have been a little garbling with the last effort, I'm going to need to run a few 'tests' before I try it again."  
  
It would have been a lot better for them if they had just run.  
  


* * *

  
The sun was just about to finish it's descent into the horizon as Tenchi, who had been sitting in his room trying to do some studying, heard the distinct patter of raindrops against his window. Something rather odd, considering the crystal clear sky. He went over to the window and looked outside just in time to see two figures plummet out of the sky and splash down in the middle of the lake.  
  
//Well,// he sighed to himself, //At least the last group was nice enough to arrive by the stairs. Thousand yen says they speak Japanese.//  
  
He went downstairs to get his shoes and greet the new "visitors." Whatever planet they were from. 


	9. One and One Makes Two

During the course of a single day, Serenity's problems had transmuted greatly. She had wanted Usagi to take things a little more seriously, but she hadn't taken into account the fact that she was, by nature, a creature of extremes.  
  
Now, the girl was taking things too far.  
  
//Listen, Usagi, I'm sorry about what I did, but you really need to calm down//  
  
//Calm down!?! How can I be calm when there's a war going on? I've got to lay plans and organiz-//  
  
//No, you don't. Listen, don't let this become your whole life. That is just as grave a mistake as not caring enough about it. Believe me, I've seen both mistakes made in plenty, and neither leads to an ending that you would like.//  
  
//So what am I supposed to do? Sit on my hands and wait for the enemy to attack? We've got to-//  
  
//In this war, waiting is a sound strategy. Listen, the Dark Kingdom is very low on energy right now, that's why they are sending all these raids. Each raid costs them a fair chunk of what little reserve they have left and when you thwart their efforts, it's wasted. If you just concentrate on stopping their operations when they happen, you'll end up weakening them far easier than you would with a direct assault.//  
  
Usagi wasn't very happy with Serenity as a person, but as a tactician, she still respected her fully. //All right, but we shouldn't just be doing nothing while we wait for them to strike again.//  
  
//I agree. You and the others can spend some time training. Individually and as a group. These aren't the only foes that you're going to encounter and later battles will require you to work as a unit and starting to learn how to do that now will help. Ami, especially, is going to need to learn how to function in a team since that's where she is strongest.//  
  
//Okay, I'll tell the others at the meeting tonight. Regular training sessions every day after school.//  
  
//Actually, I think three days a week should be sufficient. You do have a life outside of your duties, you know.//  
  
Usagi smiled faintly as she let herself be convinced. //Yeah, I guess I do. Wouldn't want to forget about Naru-chan..//  
  
//Speaking of Naru, you can't tell her anything about this. At least not for a while.//  
  
//Why?//  
  
//It's not safe for her to know who Sailor Moon and the others really are. To her or you. She doesn't have any secret legacy of power to fall back on when she's attacked, and if someone thinks that she knows... well, she'll be slightly more likely to be attacked.//  
  
//Only slightly?//  
  
//Well, in my world at least, Naru always seemed to attract youma attacks like a magnet...//  
  
//Oh, great. None of them ever hurt her, did they?//  
  
//Only her heart, Usagi. Only her heart.//  
  


* * *

  
Kiyone drug herself out of the lake and collapsed beside Mercury. "I hate you, you know."  
  
"Of course," Mercury smiled broadly. "At least you managed to keep the ship with you."  
  
Kiyone wiggled out of the straps and let the heavy container fall onto it's side. "At least it was buoyant. You wouldn't happen to have a set of dry clothes laying around somewhere, would you?"  
  
"Well, not exactly, but stand up." Kiyone did so and Mercury, well, she was still Eternal Sailor Mercury, held up her hands in a kind of X pattern with her palms touching. As Mercury concentrated, Kiyone could feel the water on her skin and in her clothing being pulled away. As she watched, Kiyone saw a ball of water form in Mercury's open palms.  
  
Gently, Mercury set the ball down on the ground where it broke. "That better?"  
  
Kiyone nodded. "Much."  
  
"Well, looks like the welcome wagon is here." Mercury nodded in the general direction of the house where someone could be seen walking toward them. She let herself revert to her normal outfit. "Let's go be sociable."  
  
Kiyone, meanwhile, was trying to figure out how to explain their strange arrival to what was probably a native of this planet. The Galaxy Police had strict rules about revealing themselves to primitives.  
  


* * *

  
Things went far better than Mercury could have hoped and worse than Kiyone would have liked. For one thing, the young man didn't really think it was all that strange that they had fallen out of the sky. He also knew Mihoshi.  
  
He didn't seem all that enthusiastic about seeing them, either. "Okay, you can stay here as long as it takes for you to fix your ship or find your lost relative or whatever it is you're here to do, but you have to follow a few rules. One, no killing in the house. I mean it. Two, I do NOT want to marry either of you so don't even start. Three..." he droned on for a while and Mercury and Kiyone exchanged looks. Apparently the poor boy had a very interesting life. Judging by rule 5, a VERY interesting life.  
  
Kiyone sighed and gathered her courage as they finally entered the house. "Excuse me, Mr. Masaki, but could you just tell me where Mihoshi is? I have orders to find her."  
  
"Let me guess, your here after her as some plot by an alien syndicate to take over the universe and for some reason, killing or kidnapping Mihoshi is the key to that. Listen, I've already told you that you can't kill anyone in this house, and the same goes to kidnapping. I'm sure if-"  
  
"Actually, I'm her partner."  
  
"Her partner... Kiyone?" Kiyone nodded and Tenchi laughed nervously. "We all just kind of thought she made you up. You know how she gets when she starts telling stories..."  
  
"Yeah, I know how she is. All too well." Kiyone thought, //But maybe she's back to normal by now. Pleaseohpleaseohplease let her be back to normal.//  
  
"Well, she's probably helping Sasami in the kitchen right about now."  
  
"Oh, God, please tell me you don't let her cook."  
  
"Oh, no, we learned our lesson the last time she caught the stove on fire. She's helping clean up."  
  
Kiyone gathered her resolve and marched into the kitchen to face her doom. Mercury winced as she heard the sound of pans hitting the floor and a high-pitched scream of Kiyone's name.  
  
"Ah, well, looks like I might as well spend the night here before heading on into Tokyo," Mercury said. "You are sure it's no trouble?"  
  
Tenchi smiled wistfully. "Nah, what's a couple more aliens in a house like this?"  
  
"Well, actually, I'm from earth, Tokyo, actually." Tenchi brightened considerably at this.  
  
"That's great! You have no idea how very few visitors we get that aren't from the other side of the galaxy." He paused for a minute. "Actually, we've had five today. This is really strange..."  
  
"Oh, the other four were here to visit the shrine, I presume."  
  
"No, the showed up to see Washuu. They said something about a woman named Setsuna sending them to find her or something."  
  
Mercury looked surprised but quickly regained her composure. "I think I'd like to meet this Washuu."  
  


* * *

  
By the time Tenchi and Mercury finally found their way into the area of the lab that Washuu was currently using, she was almost finished with her tests. Haruka and Michiru didn't look very happy about it, either.  
  
Mercury, for her part, wasn't too incredibly surprised at the sight of two of the other Senshi suspended, half naked, in a bizarre network of metal tentacles and probes, having already suspected their, or at least, some of the Senshi's, presence.  
  
They, however, seemed quite surprised to see her.  
  
"Washuu," Tenchi asked, "Is all that really necessary?"  
  
Mercury looked over to the girl Tenchi had addressed. //She doesn't look old enough to even be a teenager,// she thought. //Then again, I wasn't much older than that when I started fighting monsters.//  
  
Washuu sighed and pressed a few more buttons. "Well, I guess I'm about done with them." The tentacles slackened and began to gently lower them to the ground. Washuu turned to look at Mercury. "Oh, who's this? Someone else seeking the aid of the Greatest Scientific Genius and the Universe?"  
  
"Didn't you forget Cutest?" Tenchi deadpanned.  
  
"That goes without saying! Anyway, who is she?"  
  
"Says her name is Mercury. She just said that she wanted to meet you." Tenchi turned to leave. "I'm going to go study. See you later, Little Washuu."  
  
"Oh, Tenchi! You'll have to drop by so I can run a few tests later. These girls have given me a couple of ideas that I need to test out."  
  
Tenchi laughed nervously. "Hehe, I'll think about it."  
  
"You do that..." she let herself trail off as Tenchi walked out the door the turned to Mercury. "What can I do for you?"  
  
"Well, first of all, what kind of tests were you running on my friends over there?"  
  
Soon they were embroiled in a discussion of highly intellectual content. Haruka and Michiru used that opportunity to stealthily gather their clothing and slip away, hopefully out of that accursed lab.  
  


* * *

  
The fragile bubble of hope that Kiyone had been building up for the last few days popped soon after encountering Mihoshi again. As soon as she had walked into the kitchen, Mihoshi had burst into tears and leaped toward her.  
  
Of course, she still had a wet pan in one hand a dishtowel in the other. The dishtowel she dropped and promptly tripped over causing the pan to slip from her grasp and bean Kiyone rather soundly across the forehead. Then Mihoshi had careened into her sending them both sprawling into a counter. Kitchen utensils and foodstuffs were scattered in all directions.  
  
The young pigtailed girl, probably Sasami, proceeded to evict the two from her kitchen before they could do any further damage. Mihoshi then noticed the damage she had done to Kiyone, who was still groggy, and began wailing in earnest.  
  
She drug her through the house and into the bathroom, going on and on about how sorry she was and how she'd make it "all better." Kiyone, for her part, just resigned herself to her miserable fate and let herself be pulled along.  
  
//Well, I knew it was too good to be true. She's still as fried as they get.// Kiyone sighed. It had been too much to hope that Mihoshi had recovered from her overload by now.  
  
Perhaps that needs some explaining. Very well, the Galaxy Police had used slight forms of genetic augmentation for centuries to give their human agents an edge in combat and other such activities over other races that might be better designed for that purpose. Recently, a radical new kind of the treatment was developed and a younger Mihoshi was one of the first to volunteer.  
  
The results were immediate and dramatic. With the new therapy, an agent's reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and overall thought speed and intelligence were increased by up to three times what could be attained with previous versions.  
  
However, the High Command had decided to watch the handful of augmented agents in the field for a few years before subjecting more to the treatment. It turned out to be a good idea.  
  
About three years after the experiment was initiated, the first subject went into sensory overload. Apparently, the brain structure of a human was incapable of handling such vast amounts of speed for prolonged periods of time. Fortunately, the agent had recovered after a few months or the whole project would have been scrapped.  
  
But, in that four month period, the poor man seemed to have his physical abilities reduced by the very same factor by which the treatment had increased them, making for a klutzy, ditzy period.  
  
Mihoshi had hit her first such period in the middle of their last assignment. The assignment that had left Kiyone stranded in deep space. That had been months ago, but some of the other subjects to undergo the treatment burned out for periods as long as a year.  
  
Apparently, Mihoshi was on the long end of the scale.  
  
Or, at least, that's what Kiyone had assumed from their encounter in the kitchen. Now, Mihoshi had stopped crying and was looking a lot like her old self.  
  
"M-Mihoshi?" she asked warily.  
  
The blond woman leaned forward in response and drew her into a deep kiss. Kiyone was startled for a few seconds by then gave in to the all to familiar sensations. Her Mihoshi was back.  
  
After they broke for air a few seconds later, Mihoshi explained. "Sorry about that, but I have to pretend to still be going through the "phase" when there are other people around. They don't know about it and I don't really want to explain."  
  
"So, you were still... when you got here?"  
  
"Yes. These are nice people and they were very kind to me, even if I was a total idiot."  
  
"Oh, so why didn't you report back in for duty? The Lieutenant seems to think that you've gone out of control or something."  
  
"It's too important that I stay here. All the most likely heirs to the throne of Jurai are living in this house. They seem to attract some really big criminals and I might as well stick around and see what pops up."  
  
"Jurai? On a backwoods planet like this?"  
  
Mihoshi grinned. "Yeah, I know. It's a long story..."  
  
"You'll tell me later, I suppose?"  
  
"Of course." She kissed her again. "But we really need to get back out there before anyone gets suspicious. Hang on a sec, let me get back in character."  
  
Kiyone grinned. Life was good, for once. Even if her lover did have to act like an idiot whenever people were around.  
  


* * *

  
Back in Tokyo, the meeting at the shrine had broken up and the Senshi had returned home to prepare for their trip.  
  
Usagi was going to tell most of the truth and say that she was going to visit a historic shrine in the Okayaman mountains with her new friends. Her mother had met Makoto and Minako and seemed to like them, so it shouldn't prove a problem. Naru still wasn't feeling well, so she wouldn't be able to go, anyway.  
  
Minako was opting for the same route as Usagi. Her parents were so pleased that she had managed to make new friends in a foreign country so quickly that they'd let her do just about anything that didn't seem overtly dangerous.  
  
Ami figured that her mother would be so pleased that she was doing something sociable that approval wasn't a problem. She couldn't count the number of times that she had heard "You've got to work on your social skills, too, Ami-chan. How else are you going to get past the personal interviews to get into med school?"  
  
Makoto and Mamoru were both loners and wouldn't have to explain themselves to anyone, and Rei was being specifically sent by her grandfather.  
  
Things just work out neatly some times. 


	10. Just One More to Go!

Usagi stared out the train window at the countryside as it rushed past. //What a way to spend a Saturday night,// she thought. She sighed deeply and snuggled into Mamoru's arm a little more.  
  
Their closeness had a lot to do with Serenity and Endymion, but there was also something there between the younger two. It was too early for it to be anything definite, but they shared the memory of a love from long ago, and that was a start.  
  
Ami watched them impassively. Her life had changed rather radically in the last two days and she was still trying to sort out where she stood on everything. Complicating things even more, Usagi, or was it Serenity? Anyway, Usagi hadn't been able to completely recover her memories. She still had bits and pieces missing, as did they all, but her gaps were far more numerous.  
  
Currently, she was playing with the Mercury computer and grinning. //The funny part is, if they had told be that this thing came with the job, I would have volunteered,// she mused to herself.  
  


* * *

  
Haruka and Michiru, meanwhile, had finally found their way out of Washuu's laboratory. Just after dinner, too.  
  
They drug themselves into the dining room just Sasami and Hotaru were starting the clean up process. Hotaru spotted them and giggled when she saw the ravenous looks they were shooting at the remains of dinner. Sasami smiled and told them that they were welcome to what was left. Fortunately, a fair amount of food remained and they gleefully fell upon them. Yay, there was much gnashing of teeth and rending of noodle.  
  
When they were finished, they offered to help Sasami clean up, but she politely declined, saying that Hotaru had already offered to help. Instead, she suggested that they go find everyone and tell them that she was going to cut up the rest of the watermelon they had started on the day before.  
  
Haruka and Michiru knew that they couldn't leave before they got a chance to talk to Mercury again, and they certainly weren't going to wander back into that sick funhouse that Washuu called a laboratory looking for her, so they agreed. The activity would kill time, if nothing else.  
  
After they had left, Sasami and Hotaru finished clearing the table and set about washing dishes.  
  
"So, those two are your friends?"  
  
"Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama? Yes, they're nice."  
  
"Papa? I thought your father was in Washuu's lab, and isn't he a bit young?"  
  
Hotaru giggled. She was a lot happier since she had woken up. For some odd reason, she didn't feel as alone as she had before, or as weak. In fact, she had even made a new friend. Of course, Sasami didn't know about her healing powers yet, but Hotaru was almost convinced that she wouldn't care. Almost.  
  
"No, Haruka-papa isn't my real papa. She... she... something I don't remember." Hotaru's cute little face wrinkled in an effort to recall why she even knew Haruka's name, much less felt the urge to call her "papa."  
  
"She? Hmm... yeah, she did look sort of feminine. But why did you call her 'papa' then?"  
  
Hotaru frowned. "I can't remember. I know but I don't know. It's strange."  
  
"Don't worry about it. You'll think of it eventually. Hey, why don't you go take these bowls to Washuu and the others? They haven't been out of the lab all day, and I bet they're hungry."  
  
"Sure!" Hotaru scooped up the bowls and made off for the lab, her bad mood totally defused.  
  


* * *

  
Tenchi, as it turned out, was busy tending his fields. Ever since the school had been destroyed, he had been finding himself with more and more free time. Not normally a bad thing, but being around the house for such long periods of time wasn't good for his mental, and quite possibly physical, health.  
  
So he came out to the broad plateau that skirted the mountain about a third of the way up the path to the Masaki shrine and gardened. None of the other members of the household objected, Ryo-okhi least of all. Most days he would come down early in the morning, but it had rained today, so he'd decided to give the soil a little time to dry out and do his work after dinner. Right now, he was engaged in a healthy bout of weeding.  
  
And thinking. He had a lot to think about. This Kiyone individual, for one.  
  
She was cute and not from earth, that usually led to him attracting a new admirer, though she didn't seem to be interested. Yet. Some small part of him found that disappointing but was savagely beaten into silence by the more rational part of his brain that adamantly did not want more competitors for the Tenchi Cup.  
  
She would almost definitely be living with them since she was here because of Mihoshi. Not that she seemed very happy to have found her. He'd thought about avoiding her, but it didn't prove necessary. Neither she nor Mihoshi had been seen all day.  
  
//I just hope that they haven't killed each other,// he thought.  
  
Then there was this Mercury lady. She was... she was way too much like Washuu for his tastes. Well, not really like Washuu. Sure, there was a certain intense intelligence that she radiated, but it didn't come with the dynamic feeling that Washuu gave off. Mercury was much more stable... colder.  
  
He shook his head. If this Mercury woman did stay, she'd probably spend all her time in Washuu's lab, far away from him.  
  
The others... well, the other group that had shown up the day before hadn't been seen since entering Washuu's realm.  
  
//I wonder if I should say a prayer for them?// he wondered.  
  
It was then that a voice snapped him out of his revere. He looked up from his work and spotted a rather large group of teenagers standing on the pathway to the shrine. One of the blond girls was waving to him and was apparently the one who had called out.  
  
He shouldered his hoe and went to greet the guests. //I'm beginning to wonder if I shouldn't just post signs saying "Aliens take next left, shrine worshipers go straight" or something. I'd get more work done, at least.//  
  


* * *

  
"He looks like my old sempai," Makoto whispered to Minako, who giggled.  
  
"He is kind of cute, I bet he'll be gorgeous in a couple years, though," Minako replied. They stopped talking when he looked up from his work in response to Usagi's greeting.  
  
He picked up whatever farm instrument he had been using and made his way over to them, almost reluctantly.  
  
"Hello. Can I help you?" he asked. For some strange reason, his voice seemed to carry a note of resignation. Almost as if he was expecting them to attempt to kill him.  
  
They were saved from answering when someone called out "Tenchi!" from farther up the path.  
  
"Ahh... That's me, why don't you all come along up to the house for some tea." They nodded agreement and followed him up the stairs a short ways before encountering Haruka and Michiru.  
  
"Tenchi, Sasami said that she's going to..." Haruka trailed off as she spotted the people following him. "Well, I'm glad you guys finally decided to show up."  
  
This brought a few giggles, but Usagi looked at her sternly. "Some of us can't just forget about school to go traipsing off into the mountains." When Haruka's face had reached the appropriate level of shock, anger, and confusion, Usagi let herself go and giggled along with the rest of them.  
  
After a couple seconds of Haruka's older mind kicking her younger self around a bit and giving her a speech on relaxing more, she broke into a smile, too.  
  
"Anyway, there's probably enough watermelon for everyone if she cuts really small pieces." She spared a look at Usagi. "REALLY small pieces."  
  


* * *

  
"...but would that kind of reaction lead to the effect that we witnessed? I mean, this isn't just a couple of lesser dimensions that we're talking about here, these are whole world threads. I mean just look at-"  
  
"No, the model works fine. The distance between the threads is what makes it work so well..." Washuu paused and looked over as a monitor flickered to life. "Hello! Looks like we have more visitors."  
  
Mercury looked over at the screen. "Oh, I was wondering when they'd show up. Shall I go and bring them in here?"  
  
"Yeah, I haven't had this many guena pi... I mean, patients in a long time."  
  
Mercury just shook her head and went to greet her friends. It certainly was a good thing that she'd arrived. Some of the "improvements" that Washuu had decided to add to the Senshis' new bodies would NOT have been well received.  
  


* * *

  
The Senshi hadn't even finished removing their shoes before Mercury stepped into the hallway.  
  
Haruka and Michiru had already known that she was here and didn't share in the shock and confusion that the others were experiencing. "Oh, yeah, and Mercury's here," Haruka said as matter-of-factly as she could manage.  
  
Usagi turned a mild glare her way before starting to launch questions at Mercury.  
  
Mercury, for her part, held up a hand to stop her. "We'll talk later. Right now, Ms. Washuu needs to run tests so that we can get everything started." She gestured toward the opened door. "Right this way."  
  
The others choked down their protests and filed into through the door. Everyone except Tenchi, who knew that he wasn't included and had already wandered into the kitchen, Ami, who Mercury had pulled aside, and Haruka and Michiru, who weren't going back in there if they didn't specifically have to.  
  
Mercury looked to Haruka and Michiru. "Oh, you two should go on in, too. Your bodies are ready." If it had been anyone other than Haruka and Michiru, they would likely have whimpered.  
  


* * *

  
Ami sipped her tea slowly, trying to draw reassurance from the warm liquid. "So... You're me?" She lowered her cup and gave Lady Mercury a steady look. //Well, at least I grow up pretty,// she thought.  
  
"Yes, in a manner of speaking. Though not really... well, that explanation will have to wait for a while, I still don't understand it entirely."  
  
Ami tried to figure out what she was talking about but failed. "Umm.. Is that a yes?"  
  
"Yes. Well, sort of. I'm a you that you could be."  
  
"Alright, I can handle that," Ami said.  
  
Mercury smiled. "So, I hear that you want to be a doctor."  
  
"Yes," Ami replied, deciding to play along. "I've always dreamed about being able to help people. Like my mother."  
  
"Of course. How about other areas of study?"  
  
"Well, I have a decent knowledge of history and I can read English fairly well."  
  
"Hmm... have you ever considered getting some outside tutoring? I mean, learning things that aren't in your schools curriculum."  
  
"Certainly. But most tutors are rather specific and I don't like to be tied down so much in what I learn."  
  
"I understand. What if I knew of someone who could teach you a lot about everything? Would you be interested in learning from her?"  
  
"Her? I take it you are referring to yourself."  
  
"Yes, indeed. There's no way that I'd try to get you to study under Washuu. She's brilliant, but she's not quite safe to be around, if you know what I mean."  
  


* * *

  
In another part of the house, a part that wasn't even on the same plane of existence, screams of horror could be heard. The kind of horror that comes from specially designed medical instruments that are always cold to the touch. REAL horror. 


	11. Ending the Arc

Usagi struggled to keep her eyes open through Washuu's lecture. It wasn't easy since she was running very low on sleep.  
  
The entire night before had been one long unending series of tests and examinations, sometimes together, but mostly one at a time. Sleep had been gathered in ten and twenty minute packets, but never enough.  
  
"... and so you see the Soja was tied into multiple dimensions at the same time. That means that when it exploded, some of the force from the blast tried to spill over into the other dimension but was blocked by the safety precautions that I had installed. Those precautions, however, were not designed to handle a blast of quite that magnitude."  
  
Washuu was lecturing from behind a small podium. Usagi finally gave in and let her head sink toward her desk.  
  
Before it could make the landing, though, a chalkboard eraser whizzed across the room and smacked her on the forehead. "Ms. Tsukino, I would appreciate you paying attention in class."  
  
Usagi groaned but forced her eyes open again. "Yes, ma'am."  
  
"Where was I? Oh, yes, when the safety buffers were overloaded, a dimensional resonance was created which then transmuted into a wave. The fabric of dimensions is very hard to shift, but once you get it started, it can go a long way before it stops."  
  
"When Soja exploded, such a resonance was created and a loop of this reality was sent hurdling across the multiverse. As it went, it slowly lost speed from each dimension that it passed through until it finally came to a stop in your world. At the point where it stopped, the two dimensions "overlapped" for a few milliseconds before it began to return to it's normal shape. During that brief period of overlap, it seems that your astral signatures were imprinted on this reality and it brought you back with it."  
  
Washuu paused as Ami raised her hand. "Yes, Ms. Mizuno?"  
  
"Ms. Washuu, why did Lady Mercury come into this world with her body and her ship while the rest of them didn't?"  
  
"Good question. I'll be glad to explain it to you as soon as Ms. Aino wakes up!" Another eraser found its mark. "Thank you."  
  
"The wave apparently manifested in your world at roughly the point where it was created in this world, near Earth. Thus it was still moving and didn't fully overlap. Mercury, however, was much farther from Earth and thus was closer to the point where our reality stopped, and as such, was more fully copied into this dimension. It is because of her strong astral signature and, her strong ties to the ship's computer that they were copied at all. Normal humans, and most other races wouldn't have been picked up by this reality, no matter how "close" they were."  
  
"Any questions? Yes, Ms. Kino?"  
  
"But, if we were just being copied, why did we end up in the same bodies as our other selves?"  
  
"Simple. When you were copied, the reality must have tried to overwrite the copy of your astral signature that already existed in this world. That would have meant that you would have ended up in younger bodies but without the younger minds. Instead, the differences in your astral signatures were so great that they didn't actually cover each other and you just ended up in that body. Things would have been worse if the wave had hit your reality a few hundred years earlier."  
  
"Any more questions? Ms. Aino?"  
  
"Will there be a quiz on this?"  
  
Minako, fortunately, was saved by the bell, or buzzer, as it was. Their new bodies were ready.  
  


* * *

  
Both copies of Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru woke up a little while after the Inner Senshi started their own separation process. They were all a bit groggy, but the feeling that they were alone in their own heads was more than enough compensation for Haruka and Michiru. All four of them. Hotaru didn't really notice a difference as her personalities had been mingled almost the entire time that she had been conscious.  
  
They just sat quietly for a while, savoring the silence. Well, except for the Hotarus where were chatting away and giggling.  
  
"Hello, girls. Good to see that you're awake. How are those new bodies?"  
  
Haruka smiled and made held out her arm and made a fist. "They seem to be just fine. Is there any reason why we look the same age as the other bodies? I mean, couldn't you have made us look at least a little different?"  
  
Mercury frowned a little. "I don't really know. Washuu did all the designing, even though I did manage to talk her out of a few things that she wanted to try... I guess she just decided that it would be more fun this way."  
  
"Fun?" interjected younger Michiru. "How are we supposed to explain a set of twin sisters?"  
  
"You'd be surprised how much 'fun' has to do with getting Washuu's help at all. As for appearing as twins, I'd advise against it, actually. Change hairstyles and pretend to be cousins, maybe. I'll hack you some documents later if you want to go to school."  
  
"Yeah, that'd be nice. I'm going to need a driver's licence," elder Haruka added.  
  
Her younger self looked at her strangely. "Don't even think about driving my car."  
  
"Why not? I'm you so your car is my car. Only makes sense."  
  
Soon they degenerated into an argument and Mercury was forced to turn to the Michirus for conversation.  
  
"Well, what are your plans after this? Are you going to join the other Senshi? I believe they have planned some sort of training program or something."  
  
The older Michiru thought about it for a few moments. "No, I think we need to make sure the Deathbusters are actually gone. We didn't do a very thorough job of it this time. Besides, we need to make sure that Hotaru's taken care of."  
  
Mercury nodded, knowing well Michiru's soft spot for the younger girl. "I see. Professor Tomoe is around here somewhere, I believe. You might want to talk to him about a place to stay if you want to take care of his daughter and I'd personally like for you to keep an eye on him and make sure that his research doesn't cause any problems. Washuu was giving him some advice and God only knows what kind of trouble that'll get him into."  
  
She looked down at her watch. "I'd better be getting back to the lab, the others should be coming out of the protein bath any minute now."  
  
Both Michiru's bowed to her and she reciprocated and left.  
  
The younger Michiru turned to the older and asked a question. "So, what about us?"  
  
"You? You're going to get some training, too."  
  
"I see. What kind of training?"  
  
"Combat, tactics, some basic magic, diplomacy, everything that you're going to need to be a Senshi. Oh, and the most important skill of all."  
  
"Most important skill? I'd have thought it would be combat."  
  
"No, not by a long shot. The most important skill that you can learn, my dear, is controlling Haruka."  
  
"Oh," she replied quietly.  
  
"Haruka!" her older self called. School was in session.  
  


* * *

  
Some hours later, the rest of the Senshi woke up and after a little initial confusion, began to make the plans that they had all been thinking about but didn't voice because they doubted that they would ever actually get separate bodies.  
  
"So, what are we going to do now? I mean, we can't just go back home and hope that no one notices that we're suddenly twins," younger Rei said.  
  
"Well... ah..." older Makoto began. Everyone looked at her expectantly. "Well, Minako and I decided that... well, we're not going back to Tokyo for a while."  
  
A mummer of alarm rippled through the other Senshi.  
  
"Is there any reason for this decision?" Serenity asked calmly. Even if her body was identical to Usagi's there was no mistaking the two.  
  
"Yeah," Minako leapt in. "We're going to England to see what became of the Dark Kingdom's other gateway to Earth. If Sailor V didn't destroy it like she did in our world, then we need to find out if it's usable or not. If it's already open, we need to destroy or disable it so we don't have to fight on two fronts at once. If it's still closed, we should see about strengthening the barriers in case we decide to use it as a back door later."  
  
Serenity nodded but still had her reservations. "How long do you think it will take?"  
  
"A couple weeks to destroy it, more if it's not open and we have to figure out how the wards work," Makoto said.  
  
"Don't take too long. How about you, Rei-chan?" Serenity directed the last towards elder Rei.  
  
"Umm... well, I can probably cut my hair and put on a little make-up or something and pretend to be a distant cousin who wants to work at the shrine. It shouldn't be too hard to convince grandpa to put up a pretty young thing like myself," she grinned, her cheeks dimpling cutely.  
  
Some of the others groaned at her display, younger Rei most of all. "I can't believe that I ever turn into her," she muttered.  
  
"What was that? Did you say something?" elder Rei asked, somehow managing to keep up the ultra-cute look and appear menacing at the same time.  
  
"Ah... I was just wondering what Serenity-sama's going to do. Her parents probably won't go for the distant cousin thing..." She trailed off when she noticed the elders giving her a strange look.  
  
"Good idea!" Serenity exclaimed and turned to Mercury, who no one else had noticed come in. "Can you whip up a Luna-P? I'm going to need to do a little mind control on mom and dad."  
  
"Wouldn't it just be easier to do it telepathically?" Mercury asked.  
  
"Easier, yes, but the Luna-P's effect lasts a lot longer. Besides, it's worked before."  
  
"Yeah, that brings up another topic, what are we going to call you? Chibi-Usa, maybe?" elder Rei jibed.  
  
"I think that Serenity is a perfectly acceptable name. Though having two Reis is going to be strange."  
  
"I'll think up something. But isn't Serenity a bit too European or American?"  
  
"We have a few relatives in California, so I'll just pretend to be from there. Fake an accent for a week or two and no one will ever notice. That is, if Mercury can create us identities on paper, too."  
  
Mercury nodded and soon the conversation drifted to other business.  
  


* * *

  
Endymion, one time King, and Mamoru, future King, awoke in a separate room where Professor Tomoe was sitting, pouring over a sheaf of notes. Every so often he would giggle in delight and keep on reading.  
  
After a few minutes of watching him, Endymion decided to risk disturbing him, if that's possible. "So, Professor, what do you have there?"  
  
"Little Washuu, God bless her," he hugged the notes to his chest, "showed me what I was doing wrong with the teleportation research! With these notes, I'll have a working prototype in no time at all!" He was almost frothing with joy.  
  
"Ah... Professor, didn't that get you into a lot of trouble last time?"  
  
"Yes, but she also showed me why that happened. I'm not going to let the device be that undirected again, believe me."  
  
"If you're going to do it at all, make sure that you're careful. The last thing we need is some interstellar horror rampaging through Tokyo or a terrorist group with the power to plant bombs anywhere."  
  
The professor, for his part, didn't seem to be paying attention.  
  
Mamoru decided that this was a pointless conversation and made a suggestion. "Why don't we go and find the others? It's probably getting about time for us to be heading home if I'm going to get any sleep before class tomorrow."  
  


* * *

  
The train ride home was just as uneventful as the ride out to Okayama the day before had been. Usagi and Mamoru sat close together, though not as close as before, and Endymion and Serenity sat far closer.  
  
Ami, for her part, was trying to get a head start on the assignments that Lady Mercury had given her. Mercury planned to stay with Washuu for a while and work on some things but had decided that was no reason not to help Ami better herself, or so she claimed.  
  
Probably for the first time in her academic career, she was being challenged. It was a bit annoying, but she was enough of a realist to understand that she would gain far more knowledge this way.  
  
Besides, the first task was to write a more effective piece of youma detection software than the Mercury computer was currently using. There were some notes and data files included with Mercury's specs to help her along, but it was still going to take a while.  
  
The two Reis, for their part, were busy getting a head start on "training." They'd already been at it for a couple hours and younger Rei did seem to be having a bit of success. She was conjuring up a tiny needle of flame and getting it to move about her palm without burning her. She'd already burned herself several dozen times, but that didn't stop her from continuing.  
  
The burns, after all, were quite mild since her control broke the second she felt the pain and the little flame disappeared. And as the ride went on, her yelps grew fewer and farther between.  
  
Minako and Makoto were both lost in thought trying to figure out why their other selves hadn't stayed around once they got new bodies.  
  
Outside, finally, the Juuban station rolled into view and they began to gather their things for disembarking. Serenity took up the rather bulky bag of gadgets that she had gotten Mercury to produce before they left and checked to make sure that everything was still in place.  
  


* * *

  
Far away, in a slightly different dimension, Washuu was watching the data she had gathered on the Senshi scroll past and chuckling to herself. She would have paid quite a lot for this kind of information, certainly more than a handful of cloned bodies.  
  
"Little Washuu? What do you have there?" Mercury asked from behind her.  
  
She jumped slightly in surprise. "Nothing!" She quietly keyed the clear screen command. "I was just reviewing some data that the external sensors picked up earlier. Say, why are you still here?"  
  
"You said that you needed a lab assistant for something and I've no other pressing engagements so I thought that I'd stick around..."  
  
"Yeah, I did say that, didn't I. Hmm..." Washuu pondered. "First thing we can do is go down to the tribble pens. I've got a very interesting specimen down there."  
  


* * *

  
In another laboratory, this one much darker and even more sinister, a shadowy figure sat. His monitor was slowly scrolling data stolen from Washuu's computer via a tap he had planted many years ago. He hadn't thought it would be that useful at the time, but now it was proving invaluable.  
  
He laughed manically as he contemplated his revenge. Yes, this was exactly what he needed to grind Washuu into the ground with.  
  
He wouldn't make the same mistakes twice.  
  
END ARC 


	12. Arc 2 Ch 1: School Daze

The following is a relatively old story (circa 1998) that I've revised somewhat since then. The story isn't quite up to my normal writing quality, of course, but it is still a fun read. Of course, don't take my word for it, have a look for yourself. Thoughts appear as _/thought text/ _in the same manner as "spoken text".

Disclaimer goes here (Sailor Moon)

* * *

Arc 2: Chapter 1 (originally Part 12)

School Daze

* * *

Serenity didn't have a very good time at school on Monday, which had more than a little to do with the fact that she actually had to pay attention instead of just keeping Usagi awake. For the fiftieth time that morning, she had doubts about the wisdom of her plan.

Certainly, the logistics of the plan had been easy enough to carry off. Her falsified records had been complete, detailed, and believable. Mercury had done a thorough job even if she had given Serenity some rather low marks in mathematics. When she'd seen those, Serenity had grumbled a bit but accepted it. Poor math scores had haunted all of her academic life, a fact that was largely due to the people-oriented nature of her skills. She was not as strong with number driven skills, and an imperfect record only served to make the records even more believable.

Instead, her problems with the plan were more practical and, some might say, petty. Over the course of the years, Serenity had often grown nostalgic for the days when she was just a simple student without any real responsibilities or worries. She would sometimes dream of having nothing more fierce to tackle than an after school detention or a pop quiz when she was knee deep in court intrigue. Of course, by the time the ins and outs of court life had become an issue, she had forgotten what school had really been like.

For one thing, school ran on a set schedule that didn't change to suit her personal preferences. That meant she had to wake up early, never an attractive prospect. Her mother had decided, after a little persuasion from the Luna-P, to treat her as her own daughter, which, in a sense, she was. That meant tooth-rattling wake up calls for two. Not that anything less would have worked on either of them.

Then there were the uniforms. They were much like the Senshi uniforms, but they were also much more boring. As time had gone by, she had worn the plain old uniform less and less, favoring first frilly garments and later more elegant ones, though she had always had a weakness for a little bit of flare. Serenity contemplated doing a little enchantment on hers to spice it up but rejected the idea as frivolous. She would just have to suffer through it, like everyone else.

At least, Juuban had very few restrictions governing jewelry, provided it was not too outlandish. That meant that she could wear the earring and choker devices that Mercury had provided. One earring was a receiver/transmitter with a subminiature directional speaker, the other would summon up a visor display device reminiscent of the one that Sailor Mercury had used in their youth, though not attached to as powerful a computer as hers had been. The choker was an audio/video receiver that was capable of picking up sub-vocalized commands through a tremble microphone on the back and a video intake on the front which was disguised behind an oval gem.

All in all, it was a powerful equipment suite, and it was certainly more convenient that the old communicator compacts that the Senshi had been stuck with before. At least being able to wear the gear made it possible to keep it on their persons at all times, whereas the compacts always seemed to get left behind at just the wrong moment. The necessity of piercing ears hadn't even been that bad, particularly since only the older Senshi needed them.

The real problem, however, was something much more difficult to swallow. Simply put, the biggest problem with being back in school was the other students. Although she was in the body of a fourteen year old, Serenity was more than one hundred times that age and the shock of finding everyone else acting, well, their age was a big one for her.

_/Well, at least it isn't as annoying as palace life,/_ she consoled herself as the morning wore on. A single alien invasion or monster attack every few hundred years just wasn't enough to keep things from getting dull, and court intrigues an exercise in futility, at best. Here, at least, there was entertainment to be found in a multitude of small things. Constant excitement swept through the student body, where the topic could range from who was asking who out to what the latest new fad was going to be to which idol was the new favorite. There was always something interesting going around.

Provided, that is, that you could find such things interesting.

Serenity tried, but most of the time found herself zoning out as the gossip floated around. If Rei and the younger Senshi hadn't been there, she probably would have given up and just gone home. But, as it was, she needed to have a cover for living here and this would do just as well or better than anything else they had come up with. Being in school with the younger Senshi also served as a good chance to be nearby in case anything too dangerous sprang up. So far, however, this wasn't looking like it was going to be much fun.

And that was all before class actually got started. Things got worse from there.

After getting the class under control, Ms. Haruna went through the usual announcements and then, much to Serenity's distaste, chose to introduce the new students.

"Class, we have two new students joining us today, Ms. Tsukino Serenity and Ms. Hino Taika. Please make them feel welcome here at Juuban." Bows were exchanged and some whispered comments made their way between various students.

Serenity and "Taika" had the distinct feeling that they were being sized up by the male population. It was true that neither Rei nor Usagi had much luck with boys when they were in Junior High, but that was a little odd considering their attractiveness. Rei's problems probably stemmed more from the fact that she went to a Catholic girls school and didn't have much in the way of opportunity. Usagi's problems were mostly due to her generally flighty behavior, clumsiness, and preoccupation with Motoki.

In this case, however, Serenity and "Taika" were both about as good looking as fourteen-year-old girls can manage and they virtually radiated maturity and poise. Someone noticing the way the guys were currently looking at them would likely have had the phrases "beating them off" and "with a stick" float through their minds. As much as the elder Senshi were attempting to keep a calm face about the situation, someone who knew them well would know that they were likely contemplating the use of mallets, instead.

Makoto and Minako were both more than a little envious of the glances that the two newer newcomers were getting. The two needed to keep a low profile, and this type of attention would only make that more difficult. Besides, their welcome just a few days before hadn't been quite so... warm.

Usagi, for her part, wasn't paying attention to the introductions and engaged in a whispered conversation with Naru. Though she seemed to want to go back to her manga, she was still dutifully answering Naru's questions about the origin of the new girl.

"Who is she, anyway?" she asked, eyeing the new girl intently. "Is she a relative of yours? I mean, Tsukino isn't exactly a common name."

"Yeah," Usagi nodded and did her best to stick to the rehearsed story, "She's a distant cousin or something. She just moved back here from America and she's staying with us for a while."

Naru nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer. "Yeah, she had to be a relative, you two look a lot alike. The same hairstyle, even."

Usagi laughed nervously. The truth was that they were physically identical, down to their hairstyles, which had been a matter of contention only briefly. Both understood that the other wouldn't change and that there was no point arguing about it. However, no one seemed to notice that they were twins because of the way Serenity carried herself. "Must run in the family," she said, a little nervously.

"I guess... So, what's she like? And do you know anything about this Taika girl?"

"Serenity's nice, but she can be really bossy sometimes. She can act like a real princess when she isn't getting her way. I saw Taika for the first time yesterday, so I don't really know much about her." It was all true enough, in its own way.

* * *

That afternoon at lunch, "Taika" was far too dignified to rush off to eat, unlike everyone else, Serenity included. It was because of this that she found herself walking outside alone and overheard the angry conversation taking place between Umino and a few of the school bullies. Well, most of the anger was being directed at the nerdy student, and Taika knew a shakedown when she saw one.

Normally, bullies left Umino alone out of a kind of pity or sympathy, or it may have been that there just wasn't any challenge in it. However, every once in a while they decided that he was too annoying or lucky or intelligent for his own good. Or they just needed a little bit of extra money. This was one of those times.

Taika heaved a sigh and turned from her intended path and entered the hallway where the altercation taking place. Four hulking young examples of bad attitudes had the much smaller Umino cornered up against a wall and were making menacing gestures with clenched fists. One of the junior thugs was even brandishing bundle of half a dozen rulers like a makeshift club.

"Come on, guys, I don't have any money today, and I already gave you my lunch! Why don't you just leave me alone?" Umino asked as calmly as he could manage, his voice edging up an octave into something approaching a simper.

"We done tole you already. There's a tax around here and you gots to pay just like ever'body else. Now, you can-" the leader broke off when he heard someone clear their throat loudly behind him. The boys all whipped around, ready to bolt, but relaxed when they saw that it wasn't a teacher. "What do you want?"

"I'm just wondering why it takes four of you to harass one little guy," Taika said sweetly. To the naked eye, it may have seemed as though she was simply standing nonchalantly in the middle of the corridor, but a more expert analysis would have indicated her readiness to leap and attack. "I mean, are you boys really that weak?" she placed special emphasis on the word 'boys' knowing full well what macho pride could drive someone to. "It's quite pathetic, when you think about it."

The leader growled and clenched his fists tightly, the shakedown momentarily forgotten. "You're lucky that I don't hit girls or you'd be in for a world of hurt right now, babe. Now why don't yous just move along before I have to break my own standards?"

"Oh, like you scare me. Now, why don't you nice little fellows just go on and play before I do something that you're going to regret."

The leader, not one to back down from what he believed to be an easy fight, began to stalk toward her. "Listen, girlie, I don't think yous should be talkin' like that to a man." He poked his finger into her chest with the last. Burly as he was for a young teenager, he wasn't really that impressive on Taika's scale of such things.

"Yes," she said sweetly with a smile like that of a hunting cat sliding across her face, though the boys were not likely to understand the edge to it. "But talking that way to little boys like you is perfectly acceptable?"

The other gang members had moved up behind their leader who was now fuming in rage. Umino had a perfect chance to escape, but he was far too fascinated with this new student who was taking it upon herself to defend him. Him, of all people. A girl. A pretty girl, at that. His eyes were just about as heart shaped as they could get.

The leader of the boys stepped forward and made to grab the front of Taika's uniform, probably intent on shaking some fear into her. Almost lazily, she leaned back a few inches and he grasped only thin air. "Oh, come on. If you're really THAT bad of a fighter, you're going to get hurt no matter how easy I go on you."

"Shut up!" he spat out between clenched teeth and lunged at her again.

"Alright then, but don't say that I didn't warn you."

While it was true that elder Rei, now calling herself Taika, always dreamed of an international business woman's life, it wasn't really meant to be. She'd tried it for a few hundred years, but eventually the monotony of it all got to be too much for her. Somehow, the pursuit of the almighty yen seemed to loose its value in the grand scheme of things. In the end, she had returned to the life she had known as a teen, the life of a shrine maiden and the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment and physical perfection.

Also, it might be noted that she spent a good deal of her time practicing any and all martial arts that anyone would teach her and even a few that she had to reconstruct from aging scrolls. Drawing upon the abilities granted to her by Mars, she was able to develop a unique style that incorporated the speed and quickness of a flickering flame while including the devastation and force of a pent up explosion.

Of course, in fighting a handful of teenagers in a public hallway, she refrained from allowing the pyrotechnics that normally accompanied her fighting style to manifest, but that didn't give the boys any more of a chance. In fact, the most difficult part of the entire engagement was avoiding the deadly and crippling strikes that had become almost second nature to her. In the relatively rare instances when she had been in real combat with other beings, mercy had not been an option and her opponents had certainly not been as frail as these targets.

She made two quick pokes into the leader's shoulder and hip, totally ignoring his amateurish efforts to guard himself and causing him to double over, momentarily paralyzed by the pressure point strikes. A snap kick to the thigh dropped the boy on her left and the two on the right went down in quick succession to her second round of attacks.

Casually, she stepped over their groaning and twitching bodies and walked over to Umino who was still staring at her through his incredibly thick glasses.

"You really shouldn't have let them corner you like that. Why don't you run along to lunch, I need to talk to these lads for a little while. We've got some things to discuss."

Umino, for his part, just stared at her dreamily. Well, that is until he noticed the leader staggering to his feet behind her. He snapped out of his stupor to point at the bully.

Taika turned, slightly surprised that the boy was up again so quickly. She had only made a couple of stunning strikes to vital nerves and she hadn't meant for them to last more than a few minutes, but rising again so quickly showed stamina and resilience on his part. Most people would have taken twice as long to shake off the hits.

"Bitch!" he cast at her through a grimace of pain. "You're going to pay for that." He pulled a knife from his pocket.

"Oh, come on, I thought this school system was supposed to be safe! What are you doing with that thing?" Taika frowned. Most of the easy methods she knew for disarming a knife wielder had the potential to cause serious damage to a normal human. She had learned but not really bothered to practice the non-damaging ones. "Just put it away before I really hurt you."

She decided to play it safe and just channel a little heat into the blade. There was a faint sizzling sound and the boy screamed and dropped the knife. _/Perhaps that was a bit too much power,/_ she thought as she saw the blade turn a dull red. Either way, the boy decided that he'd had enough of this and began to warily back away from his rapidly cooling blade. His companions had shaken off their own paralysis and staggered to their feet just in time to see their leader backing away with a wounded hand.

"Oh," Taika called after them, "and if you mention this to anyone, I'll make sure and tell them that it was Umino that saved me." The boys blanched. If anyone actually believed that, they would be ridiculed until they had to change schools or move. Even then, they might have to flee the country to outrun the rumors.

She turned to ask Umino if he was injured and caught the look he was giving her. _/Uh-oh./_

* * *

Serenity would have been concerned about the fact that Taika hadn't shown up for lunch yet, but she was rather busy fending off various other students. The first group had been the boys but she made it clear to them that she already had a boyfriend. They didn't seem very happy about it, many questioning how she'd managed that after being in the country for only a few days, but they seemed to accept it and left her alone after that.

Then came the girls who were even more inquisitive than the boys. They wanted to know virtually everything about her, why she had moved to Juuban, who she was dating, and the like. Somehow, she managed to avoid any major slips and keep her accent in place, but it wasn't easy.

Her story was that she was a distant cousin of Usagi's who had been living in California until her parents died in some mysterious accident that she refused to give details on. Then her only other relative in the country, an uncle, had decided that he was unable to care for her and found a relative back in Japan that would look after her for a while.

That relative was Usagi's mother.

It was a decent cover story, and she didn't have too much trouble getting them to believe it. Especially considering that her accent went a long way to back it up. Acting skills could really pay off in situations like this and a queen developed those in spades if she expected to remain in power for very long at all.

Eventually, the girls seemed satisfied and went off into their own little cliques again, leaving Serenity alone with the younger Senshi and Naru. Soon thereafter, Taika came out of the building with Umino following closely behind her. She didn't look very happy, either.

Taika came over and sat with them, and Umino, noticing the group to be composed solely of girls, decided that it was wise to go and find his own friends instead.

Serenity turned to her. "What's with Umino? And why do you look so sad?"

"I saved him from some thugs and now he's following me around like a lost puppy." She drew in a deep breath and sighed. "I wish I knew how to get rid of him without feeling like a total heel."

"I've known him a long time, and he doesn't give up easily." Naru chimed in. "The only way he'll leave you alone is if you've already got a boyfriend. He's persistent, but he's really a nice guy and won't mess with a relationship."

Usagi nodded in a agreement. "That means that we'll just have to find you a boyfriend!" Under her breath she added in without breaking stride, "Youcan'thaveMamoru." Then she smiled and started surveying the area, "See anyone around here that you like?"

"Around here? Yeah right, these guys are all so... young." She shivered. Regardless of her physical age, robbing the cradle was the last thing she wanted to be doing.

"Well," Minako said. "You haven't got many other options." She, for one, was enjoying seeing Taika with a problem she couldn't solve.

* * *

Elsewhere, General Jadeite of the Dark Kingdom was reviewing reconnaissance reports from the drone youma he had sent out to monitor anything interesting that was happening around Juuban area schools.

The Senshi certainly looked young enough to be attending either high school or possibly junior high. Perhaps something would turn up.

For the first time since being released from the stasis that the Dark Kingdom had languished in for so many centuries, one of his plans was actually bearing fruit. Right now one of the small, batlike drones was relating an event that had transpired in Juuban just that moment.

"Then lady says," the youma's voice crackled and suddenly changed into a precise imitation of Ms. Haruna's. "Class, we have two new students joining us today, Ms. Tsukino Serenity and Ms. Hino Taika. Please make them feel welcome here at Juuban."

Jadeite smiled widely. "Tsuki no Serenity. How stupid does she think I am? Princess Serenity is here, it seems. I'll just handle her and then the Sailor Senshi won't be a problem at all." He took a moment to laugh maniacally and then again addressed the youma. "Do you have a visual image of this girl?"

The youma's small, scaled head bobbed quickly up and down. "Well, then, produce it for me." In a flash of light, it produced a rectangular piece of hide with an image embedded in it.

"So, Ms. Serenity of the moon, we shall soon see exactly what you are made of." He broke out into a bout of maniacal laughter, but perhaps he would not had he know the truth.

Unfortunately, the batlike drones were the most mindless of youma, even more so than the "drain and dust" variety that were being used for these early attacks. Certainly, they were not bright enough to decide which of two people being introduced was which, and, even more stupidly, they weren't bright enough to point this out to their masters. The picture that Jadeite clutched in one gloved hand was not of the one who called herself Tsukino Serenity but of Hino Taika.

END


	13. Arc 2 Ch 2: These Are Not the Senshi You...

Disclaimer goes here (Sailor Moon).

* * *

Arc 2: Chapter 2 (originally Part 13)

These Are Not the Senshi You Are Looking For

* * *

Since their return from the Misaki Shrine, the training sessions for the younger Senshi had been broken up into two parts, physical and magical. Elder Rei, now known widely as Hino Taika, did most of the physical coaching though it only consisted of showing the younger Senshi a few basic martial arts skills like falling and blocking a punch. Even something so simple proved to be a lot of work since only Makoto and Rei had undergone any type of combative training at all. As things progressed, she hoped to show them more advanced maneuvers and make each of them into a respectable physical fighter.

The magical training fell upon Serenity. For the most part, it was just repeatedly summoning, shaping, or altering the Senshi's chosen element, except in the case of Usagi. The moon princess, though having some small dominion over wind, had powers that weren't elemental in nature. Sailor Moon was just a shell identity of Princess Serenity, after all.

Some debate had been had over whether or not to do away with Sailor Moon's Senshi identity entirely, but eventually it was decided that allowing her to be known for who she was would only make her a bigger target for attack. While her natural talents were were stronger than those of the Senshi identity, they were also much more difficult to learn since they required the direct use of magic. The magic the elemental Senshi used was more focused, and stronger, each in its individual way, but for overall power and utility, pure magic was much better. However, without the shielding filter of the Silver Crystal, attempting to master her powers with any kind of speed could prove deadly.

So it was decided to allow Usagi to continue as Sailor Moon and train with the talismans and magical items that powered her attack and defense. Without those items, Sailor Moon wasn't very strong, but compared to the others, they allowed for a higher starting power threshold. Learning real magic would be a lot easier after she had gained some proficiency with the talismans and programmed attacks of the Senshi identiy, in any case.

Right now, Serenity had her practicing the most basic of magic tricks like creating a glowing mote of light or a shower of cherry blossoms, but it would eventually progress into some of the higher magics like shielding and enchanting. First, though, she had to build up her ability to channel and control her power since the danger of an overload was always present, even above and beyond what the Senshi faced. That meant an endless repetition of simple spells which exhausted her both physically and mentally.

The girls generally considered the physical part to be a pain while the magical part was fun. So, the athletic part of the session was always performed first so that it could be gotten out of the way, and the more fun parts toward the end to keep everyone from getting too worn out.

That's how Taika ended up eating a light dinner alone in the Crown. Her half of the night's festivities were over and she was free. Unfortunately, the only people in this world that she really knew were busy training, meaning she was flying solo.

She took another small bite out of her slice of lemon pie and sighed deeply. Somehow, being back here in this time and place wasn't as much fun as she'd hoped it would be. Sure, it was a lot better than where she'd been a week ago, but that didn't change the fact that she was alone.

_/Alone./_ Even thinking the word made her frown. Over the centuries it had become the one word that summed up her life. Yuuichirou had been with her through her teenage years and then off and on again for some centuries later until they married. He had died shortly afterward, and she'd felt alone ever since. She had never really made an effort to reintegrate socially, and society, for its part, had seemed content to leave her alone.

Even here, where Yuuichirou and her grandfather both still lived, she knew that she was still alone. This Yuuichirou and this grandfather belonged to the younger Rei, who was perhaps just Rei now that Taika had taken up another name. She couldn't deny her other self the opportunity to mess up her life with the one man that had ever come to understand her on her own.

And she had realized that even if she were selfish enough to try to take this Yuuichirou as her own, it wouldn't work out. She didn't want the young, foolish Yuuichirou that had come to her grandfather's shrine all those years before. She wanted the older, understanding Yuuichirou that he had grown as an adult.

Still, she felt a desperate need to connect with another human being, no matter if it was only on a surface level. Certainly, none of the younger Senshi would fill the gap, and she had known the older too long to find anything new from those relationships. But who? She hadn't known many people in her youth, to begin with, and being a twin unstuck in time didn't exactly make it wise to rekindle old friendships, in any case. She just needed someone mature to talk to, but with her current physical age, achieving such would be difficult at best. She needed someone who would be able to appreciate the finer things in life or, at least, not overly appreciate the juvenile things that her "peers" reveled in.

Even if she had wanted to date someone from her junior high, there wasn't much chance for that with Umino following her around like a lost puppy. _/Date. Why did that word come to mind?/ _she wondered. Taking another small bite of her pie she contemplated it. A date sounded like what she had been thinking about all along, but it would be literally impossible to not "rob the cradle" in this time. In a pragmatic sort of way, even the most elderly in this time fit that qualification.

In any case, Umino's attentions made most such relations impractical. Umino himself was totally unsuitable for several reasons. Primarily, no matter how untrue in this time, she would always thing of Umino as Naru's. Another being the fact that he talked too much. Taika, like so many others, went for the tall, dark, and handsome look with a little soft spoken and romantic thrown in.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" A voice disturbed her from her ruminations and she looked up to see a tall, blond man standing beside her table. A tiny voice in the back of her mind was doing a quick tally and came up with tall and handsome. Two out of three wasn't bad.

"No, you're welcome to join me if you wish." She watched him intently, waiting for his aura to gently pulse to the surface so she could get a reading on his personality before she decided whether or not some mischievous kami had decided to have a little fun at her expense.

"Thank you," he said, his voice smooth and cool. "My name is Fujii Ryota." He bowed to her slightly before taking the proffered seat with a soft smile on his face.

She returned the bow without rising. "Hino Taika."

He smiled and took her hand gently in his and brought it to his lips. "It is truly a pleasure to meet you."

She blushed just a little at his western demeanor. The blond hair certainly indicated he was not a native, so small indiscretions could be forgiven. Particularly when, for her, a kiss on the hand had not been considered forward in generations. "You certainly do know how to make a first impression."

"Madam, I wouldn't know what you mean," he said with a smile that plainly said that he knew exactly what she was talking about. Apparently, he was well used to taking advantage of his foreign appearance.

"I'll bet you don't."

"Ms. Hino, if you don't mind me asking, what's a beautiful young woman like you doing eating dinner all alone?"

"Oh, my friends are just busy tonight." As she continued to watch, his aura unfolded before her and she saw quite a few things. First was a trace of deception, which she quickly surmised to be an illusionary glamour. Second, his soul was dark, almost purely evil but encasing a faint core of goodness that seemed almost part of another person. Her mouth tightened ever so slightly as she realized that, whatever this man was, he wasn't going to be a potential suitor. At least, not after he tried whatever it was he was planning to try.

"Well, then, might I request the pleasure of your company for the evening?"

"Well..." she trailed off. She did her best to keep her features neutral even through the shock of seeing his aura. She had become quit skilled with piercing illusions over the years and now did her best to see through the glamour cloaking the newcomer's true form. It wasn't difficult to pry apart, actually, once she made the attempt. He had apparently not wanted to go with a full disguise spell, which would have been both draining and wasteful. There was just enough minor disguise magic to shift his features and skin tone a bit, to make him a little less recognizable. Not that most people on the planet would have recognized General Jadeite of the Dark Kingdom, in any case, but he had apparently wanted to play it safe.

Inwardly she sighed. Of course, the only polite, older guy that would approach her would have to be an evil minion of Queen Beryl. /Oh, well,/ she figured, /if he's buying, why not? It's not like I have anything to worry about from him. I mean, I almost took him myself when I was just a beginner./

"I'd be delighted," she said, her smile only partially deceptive. Combat was a poor replacement for companionship, but it was an exchange she was intimately familiar with.

"Splendid!" he exclaimed. She caught the slight predatory glint to his smile but decided that a date was a date, even if your escort probably planned to attempt to kill you later. "How do you feel about the opera?"

* * *

After practice, the rest of the Senshi and Serenity were happily eating away at the late dinner that Makoto and Rei had thrown together for them. It was, as always, a very good meal and, mixed with the feeling of accomplishment they shared from an evening of training, made for a general atmosphere of good cheer.

They had finished and were in the process of cleaning up when Endymion and Mamoru entered the shrine.

"Endy-chan!" Serenity immediately tackled Endymion in a fierce hug. The others had expected it but were always amazed that she could be so dignified so long as neither food nor Endymion were in the room. Her ability to instantly tell Endymion and Mamoru apart was slightly less amazing because of the distinct difference in the way the two carried themselves. Of course, it took most of them a few seconds to figure it out, but, then again, none of them had spent a full millennium in close proximity to either of them.

Endymion, for his part, just smiled and nuzzled his one time wife affectionately. "We were just wondering if you girls would like to have a little fun tonight. There's a new amusement park in town, Dream Land, and we were hoping to get some company and go check it out. We know that you could use a break from training."

There was a round of agreement from the younger Senshi, but Serenity looked up at him questioningly. He nodded slightly and she smiled. Tonight was going to be the Senshi's first battle since the trip to Okayama.

Somehow, when there is an even number of people walking along together, they always end up breaking apart into twos. Serenity and Endymion, of course, were together. Mamoru and Usagi kept drifting toward each other, almost as if they didn't realize it was happening. Makoto and Minako ended up clustered together and fell to discussing boys. However, as often as not, there is a pair that ends up together by simple virtue of not fitting in with another pair in the social equivalent of being picked last for softball. The other pairings fell together naturally and left Ami and Rei to walk together in silence.

"So, Ami, what do you think about those two?" Rei finally asked, growing sick of the silence. He gestured vaguely ahead of them, though from Ami's point of view, no one group was singled out.

Ami glanced to the three pairs walking ahead of them and gave Rei a quizzical look. "Which two do you mean?"

Rei gave her a playful grin. "All of 'em. Any of 'em. I'm just interested in having a conversation right now." Ami returned her smile at that point and the weight of the silence between them seemed to melt away a bit. "How about Makoto and Minako?"

Ami thought for a moment and very carefully said, "Well, Makoto and Minako seem to be a little overly occupied with boys. The really should examine their priorities."

"Oh?" Rei asked, an eyebrow rising and the grin still in place. "And you have no interest in young men, I take it?"

Ami blushed slightly but didn't shy away from the topic. "I don't have time for things like that. I have too much to do!" she exclaimed, a little more forcibly than she really had to.

"Is that right?" Rei sensed that she had struck a nerve but couldn't stop herself from pushing forward a little more. "When WILL you have time for things like that? When you're a doctor?"

Ami's face tightened a little as she thought about exactly how much time her mother, the doctor, had to spend at the hospital and how that had ruined her relationship with Ami's father. Rei realized that maybe she had gone little bit too far with what she had intended as gentle ribbing.

"Well, why don't you have a boyfriend right now? There has to be someone you like."

"Hey," Ami said, apparently deciding that enough talk about her personal affairs had occurred and that it was time to turn the tables a little. "Why don't YOU have a boyfriend? And why are you so interested in my love life all of a sudden?"

"Well..." Rei trailed off, uncertain of her own motivations with this line of questioning. "I don't have one because I go to a school for girls only. That makes it really hard to meet people, you know. And I'm just curious."

Ami frowned. "Well, if I meet someone that I really like, I'll date him, but I'm not going out of my way like those two." She indicated Makoto and Minako who were currently discussing the captain of the soccer team in a manner that required a few hand gestures.

Rei looked from the pairs ahead back to Ami and offered her a sheepish grin. "Well... just remember that you're not alone in the lonely hearts club, okay?"

Ami, in an uncommon flash of insight into human nature, realized that the real objective of this conversation had been. Rei had mentioned knowing Mamoru before this all started, and the looks she gave him every so often... Rei apparently had a thing for Mamoru. "Don't worry, Rei-chan. There are plenty of other guys out there."

"Yeah, I know. It was just a crush."

"How long have you known him? I mean, before all of this started."

"He studies plants, you know, and my school has a very nice greenhouse... I'd see him occasionally and think... but it's nothing. He belongs with her now."

"Going to keep telling yourself that till you believe it?"

"I hope," but it was Rei's turn to frown.

* * *

Taika's night was actually going fairly well. As long as she ignored the almost visible evil that her date was radiating, he was quite charming and well mannered.

They had gone to an after dinner performance of "The Phantom of the Opera" at the Juuban area cultural center. Jadeite offered to translate for her, and she accepted, deciding that it would be more fun that way. She had never been a linguist, in any case.

The show, even performed by amateurs, proved to be beautiful. Rei always had loved the opera, and this happened to be one of her favorites. Not that she would tell that to Jadeite, of course.

For his part, Jadeite seemed was convinced that this "Taika" really had no clue to his true intentions. He wasn't certainly if she was really the one he had been seeking, but even if she was using a different name, her picture was the same as the one given to him by his spies. If it proved that she wasn't really his target, then she might be able to lead him to the right person, and if not, she could always provide energy for the Dark Kingdom.

Taika snuggled up against him a little more as the show reached a particularly romantic piece and he decided on the conclusion to this evening's festivities.

* * *

Serenity watched in interest as the younger Senshi wandered their separate ways about the park. "Are you certain that this is a good idea? The last time we were here, things got a little rough."

"Yes, they can handle it. I've checked the police records and around thirty people have disappeared here so far. You came in later so maybe they are not as prepared."

"I don't know, Endy-chan. Let's make our way over to the candy house and see who figures things out first."

"Will you give them a cookie?"

Serenity giggled. "How about, I just make sure that no one gets hurt." She paused for a moment. "Make that no one on our side. Tricking people with food is something that I cannot forgive. And in the name of the Moon, I will see that they are punished." Serenity actually did a few of the hand motions while saying the last, almost unconsciously.

Endymion broke out into laughter, unable to contain himself any longer. "You've not lost your flare for the dramatic, my dear." He straightened up slowly. "Now, let's go see if our students have been paying attention in class."

* * *

Taika and Jadeite left the theater much closer than they had entered it. Taika was just content to be out with someone after such a long dry spell. Since her definition of "long" translated into centuries, even the fact that she was fairly sure she would be beating her to a pulp before the night was over didn't make it any less enjoyable.

Jadeite's mind was working furiously, as any man's would have been in this situation. His thoughts, however, were not on whether or not she liked him and would agree to another date or a walk in the park. Well, he was thinking about a walk in the park, but that was for an entirely different reason than most men.

Currently, he was trying to decide how to best confront this girl and find out her true identity. If she even knew, that is.

"My dear, would you care to take a walk in the park for some fresh air? The moon is lovely tonight."

Taika smiled dreamily, ignoring that part of her mind which was already tensing up for action. "Of course."

Jadeite smiled back. He was certain that the girl suspected nothing.

As they walked, Taika began to dread what was coming. Her date was getting a little anxious, which could only mean that he was planning on making a battle of this sooner, rather than later.

She didn't really want to hurt him now that she'd had a couple of hours in which to examine his soul. As much evil as there was in him, there was also core of goodness in him, but it was surrounded by what could only be spells to keep it firmly sealed behind a torrent of darkness.

The spells, themselves, seemed ancient and powerful and she wasn't sure that she could break them without extinguishing that little spark of light trapped inside.

She was saved from further agonizing by the sound of a beeper going off.

Jadeite looked confused for a second and then realized what the sound was coming from him. His amusement park youma was apparently in trouble and had hit the panic alarm. Finding out the girl's identity would have to wait, after all. "Oh, I'm so sorry, but I must go. Duty calls. Perhaps we can do this again some time?" He made to excuse himself.

Taika smiled in relief, though it was certainly a confusing situation. "Certainly."

Jadeite bowed and hurried off to find out what was going wrong this time.

Taika sat down on a nearby bench and silently cursed her luck. _/Why is it that all the nice guys are either taken or possessed? Why?/_

* * *

Serenity and Endymion were sitting on a similar bench near the candy house in Dream Land. Serenity was happily munching on some cotton candy and watching the fighting between the Sailor Senshi and Muurido, the Dream Princess youma, transpire on the inside of her visor.

"Remind me later to teach Usagi a true seeing spell. I can't believe that she fell for that stone snake illusion."

Endymion grunted an affirmative. For his part, he was watching the battle on his version of the visor, a pocket calculator style display. "Mamoru's swordsmanship is really poor. He hasn't been practicing much, I see. We're going to have to remedy that later." He paused to watch a particularly painful looking hit. "I think he needs to forget about the tuxedo and try the armor."

"Ami should have used her Shabon Spray as soon as they saw that the enemy relied on a breath weapon. I swear, these girls really don't think some times."

"Dear," Endymion turned from his display to give her a steady look. "They're just starting out. And they're doing better than we ever did at that point."

Serenity sighed. "Yeah, you're right. But that doesn't mean that they're going to get off easy on the training."

The battle raged on well past the point where Serenity ran out of cotton candy and was most of the way through the popcorn. The Senshi eventually staggered out of the ruins of the building. Tuxedo Kamen, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Jupiter had to be helped along by the others.

Tuxedo Kamen had taken a painful burn wound on his side and Serenity decided that it was a perfect opportunity to teach Usagi some of the most minor healing spells. Mars and Jupiter would be okay as soon as the effects of Muurido's gas attack wore off.

Then it was time to retire back to the shrine a couple of hours before everyone had to go home. It wasn't a very pleasant experience for the younger Senshi as Usagi had set up a small projection device and was giving a play-by-play account of what had been done wrong in the battle.

There was a lot of training to do, Serenity knew, and an unknown amount of time in which to do it.

END


	14. Arc 2 Ch 3: Memories of the Way We Were

Author's Notes: And so the revisions continue. I've been trying to fix all of those old errors like misspelled names, Americanizations, etc, so if you spot any, let me know.

Also, if you happen to have a copy of V&J #3, could you please email it to me? I know a few people out there may have it, but I don't have it on archive anywhere that I can find, unfortunately.

Oh, and I just want to thank you for reading. If you've made it 14 chapters into this story, you certainly deserve my thanks

Disclaimer goes here (Sailor Moon).

* * *

The Rebound Effect  
Arc 2: Chapter 3 (formerly Part 14)  
Memories of the Way We Were

* * *

For three days, Taika had been contemplating her meeting with Jadeite. Something was definitely going on beyond what she would have originally suspected, and she had a nagging feeling that she should have knows what it was. She hadn't taken the matter to Serenity yet because she was still so uncertain about everything. Besides, she was certain that she would get a Look for going out with him in the first place. Her cheeks reddened at the thought. Serenity was always one for being judgmental in areas where she didn't want herself to be judged.

By the time Friday evening rolled around, she had decided that facing the music and telling everything to her Queen might be the best idea. However, on her way to the Tsukino home, she ran into the man who had been haunting her thoughts.

"Ah, Hino-san, how nice to see you again," he said with a broad smile on his face, once more wrapped in his American disguise. "I've been wanting to see you ever since we were interrupted. I really must make it up to you."

"Now, Fujii-san," Taika replied in what she hoped was a happy voice. In less time than it had taken him to greet her, she had pierced his illusions and gleaned a view of his aura. That guttering spark of humanity was still there, she saw with some relief, and it may even have been a little brighter. "You don't have to do that! I had a wonderful time, and I perfectly understand that you had other things to attend to."

"But, I insist!" he proclaimed, his own smile completely unforced. "There is a romantic cruise this weekend, and I've been asked to fill in for the regular captain. I insist that you come and join us. It'll be lots of fun."

Somewhat fragmented memories flashed through Taika's mind. If this time line was mimicking her own, then this would be Jadeite's last gambit. That meant that it would be her only chance to attempt what she felt needed to be done. "Oh, Fujii-san, I just can't say no to an offer like that, can I?"

He produced a ticket and pressed it into her hand. "Boarding starts at seven Saturday night, but if you show up early, I'll give you a tour of the ship."

"I'd like that," she said. With this new turn of events, she decided that Serenity could be told afterwards. Sometimes it was better to ask forgiveness than permission. _/Besides,/_ she thought. _/I can handle him if things get rough. I think./_

* * *

It was only by chance that Serenity had been walking along the same street as Taika. She had known something was bothering her friend and had thought to make a visit to the shrine to see if everything was okay. As it were, Serenity had spotted Taika a few seconds after Jadeite. She would have walked over to say hello, but she noticed the blond man Taika was talking to. Figuring it for a romantic rendezvous, she quickly got out of sight and watched the meeting transpire.

Frustrated at having chosen a hiding place that was too far away to hear anything, she worked a sight clarifying spell so she could at least see him better. It worked and she soon had a clear view of a handsome man apparently in his twenties. The spell also had the side effect of piercing his illusion and she recognized him almost immediately.

_/What's Rei doing meeting with Jadeite,/_ she wondered, trying to puzzle out what was going on. _/And what's she so happy about? This is probably another one of his traps, though why he would target her, I don't know./_

She decided that this needed an explanation. She waited for the two to go their separate ways and then followed Taika for a block or so before making her presence known.

"So, have a hot date?" she asked, coming up behind her friend quietly.

"Umm..." Taika stammered, surprised that Serenity had been able to sneak up on her. "What are you talking about."

"That blond man you were just talking to... you do know that he's Jadeite, don't you?"

"Yeah," Taika frowned at being caught, though it was almost a relief in some ways. "I know... I know that I shouldn't be letting him get near me, but there's something strange about him. His soul seems trapped by darkness and I need to know why."

Serenity sighed. "Listen, Rei-chan, there is something that Endymion and I never told you girls... When Endymion was being controlled by Beryl, he kept having these flashes of memory about the Generals. They were part of the Silver Millennium, too. But we think that they were corrupted by Beryl's power. Just as Endymion was. He said that once he saw Kunzite almost break through her control, but she snapped it back immediately."

"The Silver Millennium? But who were they? I don't remember..." but she did. Something vague about Jadeite and her. It was like so many of the other memories that had never come back to her, vague and fleeting unless you knew exactly what to look for. She focused in on the image she had of Jadeite and found an image of the two of them, walking through a park, arm in arm. "I... I think we were in love."

Serenity embraced her friend gently. "I'm so sorry that we couldn't save them before."

"That's... okay," Taika said sadly. "We can save them now."

* * *

At lunch the next day, Umino Gurio was staring at the two tickets to the romantic cruise he had won in a raffle, trying to figure out how he was going to get Taika to go with him. If his one-sided relationship with Usagi had taught him anything, it was how NOT to go about it. However, knowing that only left him on unfamiliar ground.

He was still thinking when Serenity sat down beside him. "What do you have there? Oh, tickets to tonight's romantic cruise."

"Yeah, so?"

"You're thinking about asking Taika, aren't you?"

Umino almost jumped out of his seat. Serenity was Taika's friend, and she seemed the type to be overly protective. "W-well, so what if I am? It's none of your business."

"Come on, I'm your friend," she said with a smile that made him at least want to believe it. "And I happen to know that Taika's already got a date. But I don't think she really wants to be with him, Umino-san."

"Oh, and who would do you think she would rather be with?"

"You."

Umino's eyes grew a little larger in shock and he laughed nervously "R-really?"

"Yeah, she just doesn't know about it yet." Serenity offered him another winning smile. "Why don't you just take me tonight and I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Serenity made everyone aware that the romantic cruise that night was going to be a Senshi attended event, though she left everyone to find their own tickets.

Usagi still hadn't managed to find tickets for the cruise by that night. Rei and Ami were going with a pair that Ami's mother had given her in a vain attempt to get the girl to ask someone out. Usagi had a feeling that Ami's mother had definitely not intended for her to take another girl, but, then again, she may have been ecstatic to find her daughter going out at all. Makoto and Minako had managed to worm their way into dates, even if they didn't really like they guys they were with. The elder Senshi, Mamoru and Endymion were apparently all adept at finding their way onboard, tickets or not.

That just left Usagi and Luna standing on the pier watching everyone else go past. "Luna, are you sure there isn't some way to sneak on board? I've got to get in there."

Luna seemed lost in thought for a few minutes then suddenly perked up. It wasn't often that she got asked to help, and even less often that she actually could. "Yes, the Lunar Disguise Pen." Luna did a backflip and the pen popped into being.

"That's great..." Usagi began. "But how do I use it?"

"Just hold it up and say 'disguise power make me a' and whatever you want to look like."

"Ah, okay," she said, a little doubtfully. Sometimes she wondered why all of their magic talismans had to have such silly activation phrases. Nevertheless, she whipped the pen up above her head. "Disguise Power! Make me a cute camera girl." Nothing seemed to happen. "Did that work?"

"Yes, it certainly did. Take a look at yourself."

Usagi looked down at herself and found that her clothing had changed and she now had a camera around her neck. "Neat!" She picked up Luna and placed her gently into the camera bag that had appeared as part of the disguise and went to find a way onboard.

* * *

Taika had shown up early as requested, hoping to get a chance to confront Jadeite before things went too far. Her hopes, however, were dashed when she found that he was too busy making preparations for the evening's festivities to give her the tour he had promised.

It was a disappointment, but nothing that she couldn't live with. She knew she would get her chance later, given all of the extra attention Jadeite had been directing her way.

She spent most of the early evening wandering the ship and marveling at the strength of the illusions that Jadeite had created around the old barge. It took a fair amount of effort for even her practiced eyes to pierce them, and there was no telling how much energy he had been forced to expend to make them so strong. The paltry disguise magics he used on himself certainly didn't indicate that he would have this level of skill. Then again, it was always harder for a sorcerer to disguise himself than to disguise just about anything else. It went with the strong sense of self that magics required, usually.

Finally, other people started to wander on board, but that didn't help her mood much. She purposefully avoided the younger Senshi, and virtually everyone else was there as part of a couple. Seeing people happy together was never one of her favorite things, not when her life was filled with so much loneliness.

She sighed deeply and rested against the railing, watching the sun gently set over the bay. The beautiful moment seemed hollow since it was the perfect sort of moment to share with someone else.

She was brought out of the near trance that she had fallen into by a bouquet of red roses that was being held a half foot in front of her face. With a broad smile, she turned to give Jadeite a hug but found, instead, Umino to be holding the roses.

The intensity of her smile went down a bit, but she managed to avoid loosing it entirely. Umino was persistent, but also slightly delicate. "Oh, hello, Umino."

"Hello, Taika, these are for y-you," he stammered, looking fully ready to be shot down. "You looked so lonely..."

She sighed and accepted the roses. "That's very sweet of you, but you shouldn't have." The roses were nice enough. They were only a little damaged from being held too tightly in a sweaty palm, and they did appear fresh. "Are you here with someone?"

"Usagi's cousin, Serenity, but she disappeared right after we got on board."

Briefly, Taika thought of getting rid of him, but that wouldn't really improve her mood any. He was, after all, at least some kind of person to talk to. He was also kind of sweet, even if he was a bit too nerdy for her tastes.

"Shall we walk for a while?" she asked him. "There isn't anything else to do."

As if hearing her statement, the PA suddenly blared into life and announced the start of the "romantic show" in the reception hall.

"We could go see that romantic thingie."

Taika sighed. "No, romance just doesn't seem to be my thing tonight."

Umino wasn't sure what to make of that statement, but decided to just let it go. Taking a walk with her had been more than he could have dreamed of, so there was no need to push it. Together, they walked the deck for a while, watching the full moon war for dominance with the lights of Tokyo. For Taika, the cool sea breeze seemed to wash away the disappointments and the stress of they day. Companionship, even if it was only Umino, seemed to help a little, too.

_/Actually,/_ she mused, _/when he just keeps quiet for a while, he isn't bad company./_

Of course, she knew it couldn't last forever and some part of her brain kept going over and over what she was going to do when Jadeite made his appearance. After a while, the General showed up, still wearing his captain's illusion and asked her to come see something very special he had prepared just for her. She had known it was coming, but some part of her had held out hope that maybe the confrontation would not have to be here with so many innocent bystanders about. If she were wrong, what she was about to do could end up costing many lives.

With a final sigh, she turned to Umino. "I'm going to go with him," she said. Then leaned closer and added, "Please, stay here, where it's safe."

Umino, as well, had known that the beautiful time he was having wasn't meant to last. Nothing like that ever really happened to him. Now she was going off with the captain of the ship no less. She wanted him to stay there, so he would.

"Yes, Taika-san. I'll wait for you here."

Taika smiled and turned to go with Jadeite. Before they were out of sight, however, the implications of her use of the word "safe" sunk in and Umino decided that he needed to follow them. What would make that place safer than any other, after all?

* * *

The reception hall was filled with crumpled bodies by the time Usagi finally got there. It was also about half full of Sailor Senshi.

Quickly, Usagi put down Luna, transformed, and took up the point position. She used a quick speech to cover her entrance and buy her a couple seconds to assess the foe.

Water. That's the best way to sum up Youma Tetis.

As the speech ended, she called out, "Mars, Jupiter, attack! Venus, Mercury, ready!"

Sailors Mars and Jupiter began to build up attacks and Youma Tetis screamed for youma to attack. Sailor Venus held an attack ready, but paid only minimal attention to Tetis. A couple of what had once been the crew of the ship changed into vicious black things and leaped forward to attack. Tetis used the distraction to begin building up an enormous ball of water in the palm of her hand.

Mars and Jupiter loosed their attacks, but targeted the new youma instead of Tetis. The weaker creatures were vaporized almost instantly and Usagi called out "Venus! Attack!"

Sailor Venus let loose the Crescent Beam she had been holding, just beyond firing. The shot destroyed most of Tetis's right hand and caused the attack she had been building up to splatter uselessly on the floor.

"Please surrender!" Sailor Moon pleaded, dreading the inevitable answer.

"NEVER!" Tetis screamed as she launched a swarm of water darts at Sailor Moon.

Usagi dove to the side and called out another order. "Mercury! Disable!"

Sailor Mercury quickly summoned forth the Shabon Spray to wrap around Tetis and disrupt her concentration before she could try anything else. Sailor Moon got to her feet as quickly as she could manage and took off her tiara.

"Moon Tiara Action!"

The glowing disc vaporized the trapped youma and the Senshi breathed sighs of relief. They had managed to pull off the new team drills without too much trouble.

A single person began applauding and they turned to find Serenity standing in the door watching them. "Very nice, but it might be a good idea if you hurry on up to the deck and see if Taika needs any help. She's probably fighting Jadeite by now."

The Senshi exchanged glances and bolted out the door in search of the elder Mars.

* * *

Jadeite didn't waste much time. He led her straight to a slightly hidden area of the deck a bit fore of the place where he had found her and Umino.

Taika, for her part, followed along a few paces behind him, trying to build up her courage for what she was going to have to attempt. She ran out of time more quickly than she had hoped.

Jadeite spun around and let his illusion drop. "Make this easy on yourself and just surrender. I promise that I'll make your death quick."

"What? No long speech about how you're going to rule the world after I'm dead?"

Jadeite, more than a little put off when Taika failed to show any surprise at his transformation grumbled, "How about: After I kill you, your little friends will be next and then Queen Beryl will be free to take over the world! Good enough? I just know that Queen Beryl wants you dead and what Queen Beryl wants, she gets."

"Don't I get an explanation of why, at least?" Taika carefully tapped into the flows of elemental fire and prepared herself for what would come next. She took extra care to make her actions difficult to detect.

"Have it your way. You're the moon princess. You oppose the Dark Kingdom. You must die. That good enough?" The edge in his voice made it clear that he was getting fed up with her banter.

"Well, I've been a lot of things in my time, but I've never been a moon princess."

"At this point, I don't really care. Bringing her your head will buy me some time, at least. Tetis has gone and gotten herself killed and I'm not exactly going to get a warm welcome when I get back if I don't have SOMEONE's head."

Taika could see that Jadeite was beginning to get desperate and decided that she'd had enough banter and transformed. She didn't transform the way the younger Senshi transform, by calling out the activation phrases that would start a transformation sequence programmed into their Senshi identities thousands of years before. She transformed by weaving the magics manually. While it wasn't as flashy as the normal transformation sequence, it was certainly a lot more menacing.

To the observer, she seemed to be encased in a column of flame through which only her outline was visible. Then the flames died back to reveal her, still in her normal identity, but on fire. The flames melted her features into new ones and her clothing seemed to burn from the edges up, leaving behind the armored sailor fuku.

"Well, one of the Sailor Senshi. I had a feeling that you would prove to be someone useful.

"Jadeite, the power of Mars lies within the cleansing flame. Know also that that power extends to truth." She flipped the specially prepared ward into her hand and charged it with her power. "Know the truth." She leapt toward him, but he dodged back and countered with an energy bolt.

She encased her free hand in a web of flame magic and used it to deflect the attack, sending it to explode harmlessly over the sea a dozen paces overboard. "Stand still," she gritted out between clenched teeth.

Jadeite refused to comply and dodged her second charge and then her third.

"Alight then, I'll just have to slow you down." She stopped her charging and readied an attack. By her standards, Jadeite was rather fragile, and most of the attacks she knew would maim or kill him rather quickly, which forced her to fall back on an old standard. "Burning Mandala!"

Jadeite dodged most of the attack but took a few powerful hits. He fell to the deck flat on his back gasping in pain. Taika wasted no time in slapping the ward on his forehead.

As his body went rigid and tendrils of flame began to dance over his form, she refocused her vision and saw the blackness that was surrounding his soul being torn apart by the energy stored in the ward. First little bits of it came flaking away and then bigger and bigger pieces. The guttering spark of goodness in the middle seemed to brighten a little with each bit of its prison that faded. Finally, his uniform flickered from the dull grey of the Dark Kingdom to the black armor embossed with silver that the Kingdom of Earth had so favored in the Silver Millennium.

It was at that point that the other Senshi arrived on the scene and the illusion that had cloaked the ship fell away, leaving it an old wreck. Serenity stood back, knowing what was coming.

"Jadeite!" Rei shouted and virtually knocked Taika aside in her rush to get to him. She gently cradled his head in her arms and at his unconscious face.

Taika could only gape. Slowly, almost mechanically, she got up and moved over to Serenity.

"You knew." She said it flatly, but the note of accusation was clear in her voice.

Serenity nodded solemnly. "Yes. We restored all of their memories, remember? That had to be one of them."

Taika let the tears that she felt building flow silently down her face. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You had to be the one to do it, only getting close enough to him for his true soul to respond to your memory could you free him. Would you have gone through with it if you had known?"

"Yes. No. Maybe," she furrowed her brow in confusion. She would like to think she would have risked the spell for her younger self. It was all too possible that one of them could have died in the battle. "But that doesn't make it right."

Serenity sighed deeply. "I know. But I've learned that the hard choices rarely end up being right for everyone. Please, try to understand."

"I... I'll try." She turned away. "I just want to be alone right now."

Serenity made no move to stop her as she wandered off across the ruined deck. "Please, understand," she whispered at her friend's retreating form. She turned quickly when she heard the startled cries of the others.

Jadeite was fading out of view.

Quickly, she latched onto him with an anchoring spell and attached something rather nasty to the spell that had been seeking to summon him away. Someone would be in for a big surprise.

* * *

Taika wandered off, looking for some place where she could just sit and cry for a while.

Once again, she'd forgotten that her other self already had claims on the things that had truly mattered to her in her previous life. It wasn't fair. Rei got grandpa, Rei got Yuuchiro, Rei got Jadeite. What did Taika get? Nothing.

She got to be alone. Like always.

She found her way over to a sturdy looking patch of railing and leaned against it. Looking out across the moonlit waters served to calm her a bit.

"Taika?" she heard someone ask from behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know that it was Umino.

"Oh, hi, Umino," she sniffled and kept her gaze directed out to sea.

"Taika... are you alright?"

"Me? I'm fine! Never better!" she tried her best to sound convincing, but there was a definite quiver in her voice. "Don't worry about me."

"Umm... here," she heard some rustling cloth behind her and then felt a jacket being set onto her shoulders. "It's a little cold out here, and that thing doesn't look very warn."

For the first time since their conversation had started, Taika realized that she hadn't remembered to change back. And now Umino knew her real identity. What else could go wrong?

She sighed deeply, "So I guess you know."

"Yeah, I followed you and the captain..." he sat down beside her, "you sounded like you were going to do something dangerous and I didn't... I didn't want you to get hurt." He laughed nervously. "I guess I shouldn't have worried."

She willed her clothes to return to normal, and they did. The change back was always less dramatic, particularly when she was doing it manually. Sighing, she let her arm rest around his shoulders lightly. "You know, you're really a sweet guy. You just talk too much."

"I know." He looked despondent for a second or two, but the warmth of her body next to his made it impossible to be anything but happy. "D-don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this. I do know when to keep my mouth shut."

Taika smiled weakly. "Yeah, I guess you do."

"So... Umm... Taika..." Umino's voice was really shaky. "Would you l-like to... um... go out on... a d-d-date or s-something next weekend? I mean, you don't have to... but I'd really like to..."

Taika turned to him and gave him a small smile. "I guess it's time I try for something of my own, isn't it?"

Umino just looked at her, puzzled. Taika giggled. "That was a yes."

Together, they watched the last vestiges of the sunset fade away. Soon, they were replaced by the search lights of rescue boats, and life was back to normal. Well, as normal as things got in Juuban.

END


	15. Arc 2 Ch 4: Dangerous Liaisons

Author's notes: This chapter is based off episode 19, "Usagi kangeki! Tuxedo Kamen no love letter" but, I assure you that probably don't need to be familiar with it to enjoy (or not enjoy, to each is own) the story.

Disclaimer goes here. (Sailor Moon) Note that because this chapter is based heavily off of the anime episode, there may be some dialogue which was taken directly from (a translation of) the original source. If such dialogue exists, no ownership is implied by its inclusion.

* * *

The Rebound Effect  
Arc 2: Chapter 4 (formerly Part 15)  
Dangerous Liaisons

* * *

General Nephrite of the Dark Kingdom arrived in Queen Beryl's throne room just as the last cleaning crew was leaving. The hall was eerily empty, most of Beryl's court having been seriously wounded or killed by a mysterious explosion the day before.

Rumor had it that someone had taken out General Jadeite and then attached a very powerful fireball to the summon spell that Beryl had sent after him. The rumors seemed to be substantiated by the fact that he was being called to the throne room at such an early hour.

Sparing barely a glance to his queen, he knelt before the throne as was customary.

"Rise, General Nephrite."

Nephrite did as commanded and snapped his heels together smartly. "Hail, Queen Beryl." Queen Beryl barely seemed to notice, but that had been his intention. Being noticed by Beryl usually came along with making a mistake. Making a mistake in front of the dark Queen generally ended painfully or fatally.

"General Nephrite, General Jadeite has failed and paid the price for that failure," she announced. When she paused after the declaration, the implication was obvious.

"My Queen, am I to take his place gathering energy for the resurrection of our great ruler?" He knew the answer. If Jadeite were defeated, then he was the only General free for the task. The others had their own duties.

"Nay, your task is to kill the Sailor Senshi. They have insulted me greatly by doing damage to my court and this I cannot forgive. Bring me the head of the one known as Sailor Moon and you shall have anything that you desire. Fail me... fail me and you will join General Jadeite in hell."

"Yes, Queen Beryl!" Nephrite saluted and took a couple steps backward. If he had been dismissed, it was now safe to leave, but if he had not, she would speak again. She did not issue further orders, so he spared barely another second before teleporting to his base on Earth.

Once safely ensconced in his base, he began to prepare the equipment he would need for a star reading.

"The Sailor Senshi may be powerful warriors, but even the strongest warrior has a weakness that a clever foe may exploit for their downfall." Certainly, they had been the ones behind Jadeite's downfall, but Jadeite had always been the weakest willed of the Dark Generals. His connection to the stars would show him a way to exact vengeance for his queen while rising in her esteem. It was not long, however, before his musings were interrupted by the sudden arrival of General Zoicite.

"My, you certainly seem full of confidence, Nephrite. So very much like Jadeite was... but we both know where that got him." Zoicite smirked at the slight growl that Nephrite gave him. Tormenting his fellow Generals was almost as much fun for Zoicite as tormenting mortals.

"Don't you have a mission of your own, Zoicite? Or do you consider your own orders so poorly as to spend your valuable time here tormenting me?"

"I have agents searching for the Silver Crystal even as we speak. I am not concerned about failure." He made a dismissive gesture with one hand and raised one eyebrow gracefully to give Nephrite a meaningful look. "Perhaps you should worry about that yourself."

Nephrite grumbled as Zoicite vanished in a shower of flower petals but didn't let it deter him from returning to his work. Sailor Moon's weakness would soon be known, and he would deal with Zoicite when the time came.

* * *

Usagi checked her mailbox on her way home from school and found, much to her surprise, a letter addressed to her.

She showed it to Serenity, who was walking beside her, and opened it.

"Well, what's it say?" Serenity asked.

"Umm... it's really weird..." she replied, still reading. "It's a love letter from Tuxedo Kamen. It says that he wants me to meet him in the MS department store in Shinjuku tomorrow night." She looked up at her counterpart. "But why doesn't Mamo-chan just ask me in person?"

"Oh, I know." Serenity seemed to suddenly remember something and nodded to herself. She smiled mysteriously but wouldn't say any more on the matter.

Later, that evening, Usagi called Mamoru, still trying to puzzle out what was going on.

"Chiba residence."

"Mamoru?"

"Nope, Endymion, that you Serenity?"

She giggled lightly. "Nope, it's Usagi. O' clone of mine went over to the shrine to make sure her spells are holding. Is Mamo-chan there?"

"Yeah, he's just getting out of the bath, here, lemme go get him."

She waited for a few moments before Mamoru answered the phone.

"Yeah, what's up, Usako?"

"I was just wondering what you've got planned for tomorrow night."

"Sorry, but I've got an exam at seven. Can't do anything tomorrow, but I'll make it up to you Saturday."

"Then why did I just get a love letter from "Tuxedo Kamen" asking me to meet him tomorrow night?"

"Dunno. Does it look like my writing?"

"It's typed, and no signature."

"Sounds like a trap to me. Just try not to get in trouble before nine, okay?"

* * *

A heavy bag of groceries in each arm, Makoto was doing her best to walk home when a television display in the window of an electronics store caught her eye. There wasn't any sound, the televisions being on the other side of a thick pane of glass, but the closed captioning was enabled on a couple of the sets.

"And again, the mysterious Sailors V and J have thwarted a monster attack on a subway train in London. Police are baffled at the origins of both the strange creatures that have been causing havoc throughout the London area for the last two weeks and the mysterious figures that have arrived to combat them." Throughout the anchor's commentary, hazy video of two girls in Sailor fukus, one orange and one green, was being shown.

"The similarity to the so called Sailor Senshi that have appeared in the Juuban area in the midst of a rash of unexplained disasters is striking." Here, the video switched to some black and white footage from a surveillance camera that had been at the gem show a couple weeks before. "Authorities are speculating that the two groups may have a common origin, but so far, no evidence has come forth to support..."

Makoto's arm was starting to cramp up from having to hold the bags for so long and she decided that it would be better to just catch the late night news replay at home. No sooner had she turned around than she found herself imbedded in someone's chest.

Her bags dropped to the ground and she stumbled backwards, as did the man she had run into. "I'm so sorry," she said as she recovered and bent down to reclaim her fallen groceries.

"It was my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going." The man, though startled by the run in, recovered quickly and scooped up the bags. "My, these are heavy."

He seemed to grow thoughtful for a second or two. "Please, allow me to help you carry them home. It's the least that I can do for causing such a lady as beautiful so much trouble."

_/But it was my fault.../_ Makoto gently shoved the voice of reason into the back of her mind and locked it in its room. "Oh, thank you."

After all, how often did she get a chance to offer a nice, older man a home cooked meal? Especially one that reminded her so much of someone, though it was probably just her old sempai.

* * *

The next day at school, Usagi gathered from the general gossip that she was, by no means, the only person to have gotten one of the letters.

It was really starting to get to her since Serenity refused to talk about it, Naru and Makoto were so busy discussing some Sanjouin guy that they had both met the day before that they were impossible to talk to, and everyone else just flat-out didn't know.

Finally, Ms. Haruna began class with an announcement.

"I understand that many of the young women in this class have received letters from someone calling himself "Tuxedo Kamen." Other students have received similar invitations, and it is clear that this is all just a prank. I urge you to just forget about them. Now, with that out of the way, let us move on to Chapter 3 in your..."

Class was underway but Usagi was still contemplating who had really sent out the letters.

* * *

After school, Naru walked to the MS department store to see what was going on. Much to her delight, she found Sanjouin Masato there, watching the entrance. After a few seconds of hesitation, she walked up to him.

They had met very briefly the day before when she'd bumped into him on the street. _/He probably doesn't even remember me,/_ Naru thought. _/But this is no time to back out./_

"Masato... Masato-san, my name is Osaka Naru and we met yesterday... and I was just wondering... umm... are you Tuxedo Kamen?"

Masato looked surprised for a moment then smiled smoothly. _/She shouldn't have been able to figure out that I was the one who sent those letters. Most girls her age don't have that kind of perception... maybe she is someone special. Someone like Sailor Moon./_ He gave her an appraising look, and she certainly looked about the right age. _/Yes, she just might be the one that Queen Beryl is looking for. I'd better make sure that she's there tonight./_

"Naru-chan, you're very cute," he said suavely. "I'm glad that you remembered my name." He stood up and turned around to leave. After a couple steps, he turned his head and said, "See you tonight." With that, he smoothly glided away from her and was soon lost in midst of the other pedestrians.

Naru could barely keep herself from shouting out in joy. She would definitely be there.

* * *

Curiosity finally got the better of Makoto and she made the trip to the Department store.

When she had gotten the letter that morning, she had gotten a strong feeling that it was from Sanjouin Masato. She didn't know why, but something about it had called out to her. What was causing her the most trouble was the fact that he'd signed it as "Tuxedo Kamen."

No one, besides the Senshi even knew who Tuxedo Kamen was, but, in the end, Makoto wasn't one to listen to reason when her instincts were telling her something, so here she was.

She wasn't alone, either. Naru was there well ahead of her. They had spoken earlier in the day about Masato, and Naru had also seemed convinced that he was the one that had sent the letters. Makoto hadn't tried to dissuade her of the notion because of the feeling she kept getting that Naru was right and the fact that she couldn't explain who Tuxedo Kamen really was.

Now, here Naru was, calling out to Tuxedo Kamen in a deserted department store far too late at night. Makoto hid herself behind a large display and settled in to watch.

Naru called out again, and this time was answered from the top of the escalators. "So, you have arrived, Sailor Moon." A figure clad in a black tuxedo and cape moved out of the shadows.

"Masato-san, what are you talking about?" Naru asked, puzzled.

"Don't try to deny it anymore. Transform, my love, so that we may be together." Meanwhile, Nephrite's was growing even more certain that he had chosen the right target. She had recognized him from his voice alone.

"I'm not Sailor Moon..."

"They why are you here? Sailor Moon would have come to be with her darling Tuxedo Kamen."

"I...I'm here because I like you, Masato-san. I was hoping that it was you that sent the letters..." Even in the darkness, Makoto was sure she was blushing.

_/Damn. Better get her out of the way before the REAL Sailor Moon shows up./_ He bounded down the escalator and stood before her. "I have no time for this," he muttered and reached out to drain her energy.

Makoto spared the room a quick glance to make certain that she was unwatched and transformed into Sailor Jupiter. Nephrite had only just started draining Naru by the time Jupiter stepped out from the darkened displays.

"Who are you to play with young girls' hearts? Wearing the false mask of a man with a pure heart to commit your evil deeds. I am Sailor Jupiter and in the name of love lorn girls everywhere, I shall punish you."

Nephrite let Naru go, still amazed at the amount of energy she had given up in so short a period of time. "Oh, well. This trap was set for Sailor Moon, but you are as good a victim as any." He dismissed the glamour that was his costume. "I am General Nephrite of the Dark Kingdom and your destroyer."

The effect on his foe was less spectacular than he had hoped. The girl's jaw fell open in shock and she stammered out, "N-Nephrite-chan?" Jupiter, like Rei before her, was faced with a ghost from her past. Certainly, they had figured out that the four Generals were also the four Guardians, but knowing and seeing were two different things. "Is that really y-you?"

"Who else would I be? Now, prepare yourself!" He drew back his hand to build up an attack, but stopped when he saw that his opponent seemed frozen. Somehow, this didn't feel right. "Come on, prepare yourself."

"They said that you were alive, but I didn't know..." Makoto was babbling by this point, tears streaming down her face. "Jadeite came back and then..."

"What are you talking about? Jadeite is dead. He died for his failure to Queen Beryl."

"No, he's alive," she gave him an odd look. "Don't you remember?"

"Remember what?" He knew he should be ripping her apart at that moment, but for some reason he couldn't get his arm to agree to attack. Something buried deep inside him was trying to force itself out. He screamed in pain as he felt something very much akin to being torn in two.

The girl had moved closer to him and his muddled mind focused on her as the creator of his torment. He gathered what energy he could and launched his Starlight Attack. She didn't see it coming and took it full in the chest. She flew backwards and crumpled into a heap on the ground but that did nothing to stop the hideous tearing sensation and soon he was blinded by the pain.

Finally, his vision cleared and he was able to focus on the world again. The first thing that he saw was the body of his beloved, the Lady Jupiter lying on the ground before him.

Immediately, he wondered who had done such a hideous thing but he already knew the answer. He had. He screamed in a mixture or frustration and rage as he ran to her side.

She was already coming around, his blast having been far from full power, by the time he reached her.

* * *

Serenity, who had been hiding in a darkened corner of the MS department store for several hours, sighed in relief as General Nephrite's drab uniform shimmered and twisted and transformed into Guardian Nephrite's armor. She had been ready to step in on this encounter more than once already, but was now glad that she hadn't.

The last, desperate attack forced by Beryl's controlling spells had packed little more energy than a weak punch and done Makoto no real damage. She had been right about the strength of the love that Nephrite held for Jupiter being enough to overcome Beryl's control. After all, his love for Naru in their own world had made him turn against her in the end.

Things seemed to be working out just fine.

That is, until Nephrite screamed again.

Serenity snapped her attention back to the others and saw that Nephrite was slowly fading from view, just as Jadeite had. Hurriedly, she chanted the anchoring spells that would hold him in place, but when she went to attach another fireball to the summoning spell, she couldn't find it.

Nephrite fell over and Serenity finally decided that it was time for her to do a thorough examination on him. She dispelled the obfuscation magics that she had woven about herself and rushed over to him.

Makoto was already crouching above him, trying to wake him up but having little success.

When Serenity drew to within arm's reach, Nephrite's eyes snapped open and Serenity immediately sensed that something was wrong. She threw herself against Sailor Jupiter, knocking both of them to the floor several feet from the prone figure.

"Queen Beryl says: Only fools use the same trick twice!" the thing said in a monotone voice. "She sends her greetings." Serenity flipped over to face the thing and chanted a containment spell as fast as she could.

The... thing that looked like Nephrite exploded into a shower of mist which rushed outward until it met the barrier that Serenity had hastily erected around it. It condensed on the shield and ran onto the floor where it hissed and ate at the tile.

"What was that thing? Where is Nephrite?" Makoto asked, nearly hysterical.

"Gone. Beryl has him again. She tricked me." Serenity hung her head in shame. She had tried to let the younger Senshi fight their own battles and this was the fruit of that decision.

_/God help Nephrite's soul,/_ she prayed silently.

Queen Beryl's satisfaction at putting one over on the mysterious sorcerer that was working with the Senshi went a long way toward easing the anger she felt at having her controlling spells broken yet again.

She looked at the prone form of Guardian Nephrite that was hovering in the air before her throne and began the long task of returning him to her side. Her bond with the spells allowed her to read their tattered remains to find what had caused their breakage. _/He always was the strongest willed of them,/_ she thought, _/first, I have to find out which of his accursed memories was strong enough to break my seals. And destroy it./_

Guardian Nephrite seemed to shiver in his sleep, somehow sensing the agony that was about to begin.

END


	16. Arc 2 Ch 5: Iron Senshi

Disclaimer goes here. (Sailor Moon)

* * *

The Rebound Effect  
Arc 2: Chapter 5 (formerly Part 16)  
Iron Senshi

* * *

General Nephrite awoke slowly, not knowing where he was. He felt cool tile pressing against his cheek and decided that he was probably unconscious somewhere unfriendly. Of course, there were not many places friendly to the Generals of the Dark Kingdom, so it was only a reasonable assumption.

He forced his eyes open a bit so he could get a look at his surroundings. Black tile with swirling grey patterns. Low step in front of him. Big chair on it. Thoughts drifted towards each other in his mind with all the speed of drifting oil tankers, but eventually they collided and made a mess for the wildlife.

It appeared to be a good thing that Nephrite wasn't an otter, though he might have felt better if he were. Anyway, his muddled brain finally cleared enough for him to realize that the floor he lay upon was that of Queen Beryl's throne room.

That meant one of two things. She was either happy with him or she wasn't. There wasn't much more to worry about when it came to Beryl except how to move from the latter to the former or avoid slipping from the former to the latter. Either way, she didn't like to be kept waiting.

He got to his feet quickly and snapped to attention. Well, he tried to, anyway. At the top of his rising motion, the world seemed to come back up around him and it was all he could do to keep from returning to his position on the floor. Finally, things seemed to settle down a little and he could stand without too much trouble.

"General Nephrite." Queen Beryl's voice sounded old and weak, like he had never heard it before. "It is good to see that you are back among us." She trailed off wearily.

Now that his vision was refocusing again, he could see her. She looked far older than normal and utterly exhausted. "Queen Beryl."

She held up a hand to stop him. "Those miserable Sailor Senshi corrupted you with their foul magics and I had to work long and hard to remove them." She took a deep, shuddering breath and gestured weakly with one hand for him to go. "I am tired now, leave me."

Nephrite bowed deeply to his queen even though it almost sent him to the floor again. "Yes, my Queen. As you will."

"And Nephrite?" she called after him as he prepared to exit the throne room.

"Yes, my Queen?" he paused but didn't turn around, almost dreading what she might say.

"The Sailor Senshi. They must die. Soon."

"Yes, my Queen," he said and nodded. With that, he departed.

* * *

Makoto had been in a funk for several days. She hadn't really spoken to anyone or done anything since Nephrite was stolen away by Beryl and the others were beginning to worry.

Serenity was particularly concerned about her, but didn't know what to do. Taika had talked to her for a long time about what had happened and was ready to try to do something, anything, to cheer Makoto up.

Serenity had reluctantly informed her of the most likely consequences of Beryl recovering Nephrite, and Taika wasn't sure that Makoto could handle some of them. Most likely, it wouldn't be good for whatever relationship they might have had.

So it was that she decided that it was the perfect time to drag Makoto and Minako along with her and Umino to the Juuban district cooking exhibition and contest. Umino had gotten two pairs of tickets a few days before and decided that it would make a nice almost-date for him and Taika. Getting Makoto out of her apartment and into a cooking atmosphere, one of the things that she dearly loved, was just an added bonus.

He really liked Taika, which wasn't really that unusual for him. He did pine after girls on a regular basis, Usagi having been his longest running fixation. The unusual part, however, was the fact that she didn't seem to mind. In fact, she almost seemed to want him around. Returned affection was almost a totally novel experience for him.

He was even learning to read her moods. Learning which of her expressions meant that he was talking too much about something that she didn't care about was probably the single greatest stride in their relationship so far. Though, she did seem to be giving him that look far less often now.

Somewhere along the line, she had started finding Umino's little pieces of useless information almost fascinating. No one was more surprised by that than she was. A lot of it had to do with the other things that Umino did, though.

Like a few flowers at just the right moment, or a card tucked into one of her school books found while she was studying. Little things that spoke volumes about what kind of person he was.

Producing tickets to an event that he knew that Makoto would enjoy was just the latest in a long string of sweet things that he had done over the last couple of weeks.

So, there they were, three teenagers and one de facto teenager wandering a vast array of stalls and booths amidst a cloud of some of the most tempting aromas they had ever experienced. After a little while, the internal forces of the sea of pedestrians began to make it hard for such a large group to navigate and stay together.

They agreed to spit up and find each other again later, before the big demonstration by the French star of the festival, Pierre Louise, followed by the contest judging. Makoto and Minako wandered away chatting happily about nothing and Taika and Umino wandered away together.

"She seems better," Taika said, "but I'm not sure that it'll last."

"You never did tell me what she was so upset about, anyway." Umino gave her a slightly hurt look.

Taika sighed inwardly, slightly annoyed by what was probably Umino's biggest flaw. He was always looking for flaws in their relationship. It was like he was constantly expecting to be told that she was just kidding about everything and he should just go away.

"Well... it's complicated." She tried to decide on the best way to phrase it. "Let's just say that it's over a guy that may or may not try to kill her the next time she sees him."

Umino nodded acceptingly. There was a lot that Taika either couldn't or wouldn't tell him about herself or the other Senshi, but he had come to live with it. Not that he had a whole lot of choice in the matter, getting her to change her mind on something was extremely tough.

They wandered through the stalls for quite a while, pausing occasionally to sample one of the culinary delights being prepared all around them. Eventually, they found the crowds around them moving toward the main gathering area where the contest judging and exhibition were to take place.

Makoto and Minako had already staked out seats near the front and were viciously defending them. Many an unwitting person received a bop with a rolled up program.

Taika and Umino slid into the extra spaces and Makoto and Minako were able to lower their guard and relax for a while. Seating at this event was rather poorly planned, it seemed, and there were a lot of people trying to squeeze into too few seats.

They chatted for a while about some of the dishes that they had found particularly memorable before Pierre stepped out into the area cleared for his demonstration and tapped the mike.

"Hello," he proclaimed in heavily accented Japanese. "Demonstration will be starting in moment. Please to relax." Some of the younger children in the audience got a giggle out of his grammar and phrasing.

The crowd murmured for a while before he began his show. He chopped vegetables in mid air, flipped food from container to container, kneaded dough into interesting shapes, and prepared flaming dishes. All in all, the show went on for the better part of an hour while the crowd stared on with watering mouths.

Here and there, he would request a volunteer who would get to taste one of his creations or brave death holding a vegetable to be cooped or any of half a dozen other quirks in his show. After a while, he started just using a large cleaver to hack into things. His chopping and cooking reached an almost frenzied pace and many of the crowd backed away from the stage to avoid the shards of wood flying from the gouged cutting board..

Taika realized that something was wrong and grasp the source of her mystical powers and enhanced her sight so that she could see energy patterns. Yes, there was an unusual strand of energy stretching between the chef and that cleaver that he seemed so attached to.

"Girls, we'd better go transform. This isn't part of the show." The energy levels were almost high enough to be seen by everyone at that point. "Definitely not part of the show."

"Umino, get out of here, we'll find you later." She gave him a peck on the cheek and shoved her way through the crowd, followed closely by Makoto and Minako.

Umino, for his part, just stood there in shock. His eyes glazed over and a blush threatening to make his face explode.

They managed to get free of the crowd which was milling about in confusion and work their way around to the rear of the stage where it was fairly deserted. Taika metamorphoisized her outfit while the other two used their wands.

"You have to teach us how to do that," Makoto told her.

"Yeah," Minako agreed. "I'm tired of showing the world my panties every time I need to transform."

Taika grinned. "Teaches you character. Besides, it takes a lot of control to do it without the wands. Remind me to explain it to you later."

Minako looked at her warily. Taika's explanations were often to be dreaded since even Ami had trouble following them. "Uh... maybe I'll pass on that one. Let's get out there and dust that youma!"

Makoto smiled happily at the prospect of combat. When things got too complicated, it was nice to have something straightforward to do.

* * *

Nephrite watched as the power levels rose and intensified. Too bad Beryl had sent him after the Senshi without giving him a chance to demonstrate his superior skills in energy gathering.

It didn't matter; the chef was very close to being perfectly filled with power. Even as he watched, the last bit filled him and the youma sprang to life. Nephrite tapped into the youma and used him to rapidly drain the human of most of his energy.

He would have gotten it all, but the Senshi chose that moment to show up.

Cursing silently, he severed his link with the creature and called out to the girls. "I'd love to stay and play, but I've got things to do. Play with my little pet for a while if you want, though."

The looked over to his place of concealment and the one in green shouted his name and ran toward him. Somehow, that caused a thrill of deja vu to go through him, but he wasn't foolish enough to stick around.

He teleported back to Beryl's throne room to offer her his nice little haul of energy as a kind of thank-you for saving him from the Senshi. The Senshi could kill or be killed by the youma for all he cared. Right now, the Dark Kingdom needed the energy if there was any hope of setting a trap for them.

* * *

Makoto shouted out Nephrite's name and rushed toward the place where he was standing but he seemed to ignore her. The blade youma, however, didn't. Resembling nothing so much as half a dozen articulated blades welded together, it stepped forward and kicked upward with one of its knife edged feet, slicing cleanly into Sailor Jupiter's abdomen.

Taika, who had been occupied with readying an attack for Nephrite, had to let it lose at the youma instead. The creature didn't even have time to scream before it was a pile of rapidly cooling ash.

However, by the time she could have launched another blast, Nephrite was gone.

Minako was already at Makoto's side, gingerly turning her over to assess the damage. Taika rushed over to see what she could do.

The damage was bad. No where near as bad as it would have been if the kick had hit an unprotected human, but still bad. Gently, she pulled the torn edges of the fuku away from the wound so she could get a better look.

The slash wasn't very deep, fortunately, most of the force of the blow being spent to cut through the extremely strong material of the fuku. There was a fair amount of blood, but nothing important looked damaged.

Taika concentrated and laid her hand over the wound, searching with her mind for each and every severed blood vessel and infecting agent and snuffing them out one by one with minuscule bits of flame. She knelt like that for several minutes, a faint red aura surrounding her body and spreading outward over the area of the wound.

The crowd, which had fled at the appearance of the youma, began to trickle back in to get a glimpse at one of the mysterious Sailor Senshi. No one approached too close, but Minako was starting to get nervous.

"Hurry up," she whispered loudly and urgently to Taika, but she just seemed to ignore her. Only the fact that she was worried about Makoto's health kept her from dragging both of them out of there bodily.

Police had arrived by the time Taika finished and were hurriedly surrounding the trio of girls. "Hold it right there!" one of the cops proclaimed.

Taika looked around at the assembled police and did a quick bit of planning. She was going to really regret this in the morning, but there didn't seem to be any other way out. Carefully, she slid her arms under Makoto's prone form and whispered to Minako. "Place your hands on my shoulders. When you feel something pulling at you, go with it." Minako nodded slightly and slowly set her hands onto Taika's shoulders.

Taika reached out with her spirit toward Minako's and nudged the right areas. The words formed in her mind, and, as one, they spoke them, "Sailor Teleport."

The police had a lot of trouble explaining how that one happened.

* * *

Queen Beryl was giving Nephrite a hard look, though it was growing more difficult to do so in the face of his successes.

"One of the Senshi was wounded, perhaps seriously by my youma."

"And why did you not stay and finish them, General Nephrite?"

"The one with the unusually high power levels was with them, my Queen, so I felt it wiser to return here with the energy instead of risking a confrontation. To face her will require a trap."

"Perhaps you do not understand the merit of following orders?"

"My Queen..."

"Never mind that. You have new orders now. Gather as much energy as you can. I will give unto Zoicite the task of killing the Senshi."

"But-"

"No buts. You have proven to be most effective at gathering energy. Perhaps Zoicite will finally manage to prove his worth to the Dark Kingdom since he has repeatedly failed in his quest for the Silver Crystal."

Nephrite grumbled to himself, but was careful to keep his outward face calm. "As you wish, my Queen."

_/Giving my task to Zoicite? I'll show him. Failed to find the Silver Crystal did he? Wouldn't it just be priceless to see his pretty little face when I hand it to Queen Beryl.../_

END


	17. Arc 2 Ch 6: On the Laying of Plans I

Disclaimer goes here (Sailor Moon).

* * *

The Rebound Effect  
Arc 2: Chapter 6 (formerly Part 17)  
On the Laying of Plans I

* * *

Rei allowed her eyelids to slide open slowly, taking in the light a sliver at a time. She felt disconnected from the world, like she was floating, and there was a throbbing in her head that just wouldn't go away.

Vaguely, thoughts of getting up crossed her mind. She didn't really know where she was and the ceiling, the only thing she could see from her current position, wasn't very informative. Of course, these thoughts were disregarded almost immediately after inception, but they were there, none the less.

The muddle of half formed thoughts and ideas currently residing within her brain was pierced rather thoroughly as a dark shape moved across her vision and something cool and damp settled onto her forehead.

"Ug," she managed, finding her voice for the first time in what seemed an eternity. "Wagh."

Someone quietly shushed her. "Rest, Taika. You've overexerted yourself, that's all."

Taika. That name seemed familiar somehow. It was her name, but her name was also Rei. More murky thoughts swirled around in her head, but nothing coherent came into being.

There were sounds now, movement. "Serenity says you need your rest, so go back to sleep."

Something about the voice, or maybe it was the name "Serenity" put her at her ease and she allowed the darkness to claim her once more.

* * *

The next time her eyes opened, Taika was herself again. Well, she was still tired, but not like before. This time she managed to get the willpower to move after only a few minutes of ceiling staring.

She was at the shrine. This was pretty close to saying that she was home.

Something about that thought struck her as funny. It's amazing how things tended to come full circle. She'd started out here, and, after a long time, she was here again. She hadn't been born in this place, but she had, at the essence, been reborn here as Sailor Mars.

Somehow, the second time around, the little things were all the more pleasant, even with the painful moments mixed in. In a sense, it felt like she was reading a favorite novel. She already knew how it would turn out, so she could focus more on the way in which the story was woven.

After a while, she let the stray thoughts run themselves out, and she moved to get up. Some things, it should be pointed out, are easier said than done.

The world swam a little as she propped herself on one elbow but stabilized after a few seconds of disorientation. After that, it was a slow, painful process to become upright once more. Her limbs were weakened for some odd reason and everything had an annoying habit of moving while she was holding perfectly still.

Eventually, she made it to her feet and began, with tottering steps, to make her way to the bathroom. After she washed the sleep out of her eyes, she could at least see clearly, even if her walking was still suspect.

Thoughts which had been meandering through her head aimlessly began to find their way into logical statements. First of all, why was she so weak? She tried to remember what had happened, but everything was still hazy. She couldn't even remember the last time she had felt like this.

She dredged her memory for quite a while as she went about her morning absolutions. If it was morning, that is. For all she knew, it was the middle of the night.

Some time later, Rei found her sitting outside on the deck, leaning against one of the supports. Taika didn't even look away from the cup of tea she was nursing as Rei approached.

"You shouldn't be up," she said as she settled down beside her.

Taika gave a faint grunt of acknowledgment but said no more. Rei sat there for a while, silently watching the horizon. Faint tinges of grey were just beginning to lighten the night sky.

"What happened?" Taika asked finally.

Rei, who had given up on getting Taika to talk to her, started slightly. "Happened? You don't remember?"

Taika made a negative sound.

"Well, Serenity says that you used more power than you could handle. You got the others here, but you fainted almost immediately. You've been sleeping for almost a full day now."

"No, before that."

"Before that? You don't remember the fight with Nephrite?" Again, the negative grunt.

"Well, Nephrite showed up at the cooking show you took Makoto to yesterday... you do remember the cooking show, right?" A small nod. "Good. Anyway, he showed up, did the energy gathering thing and set a youma on you three. Minako was there, too."

"Makoto got careless and the youma hurt her... You healed her somewhat, but by the time you were done, the police were there. Minako says that you teleported them all back here, but passed out almost as soon as you arrived."

"You've been in bed ever since. Serenity says that your body isn't used to channeling so much power at once yet."

Taika nodded. She still didn't remember everything, but enough was back for her to be comfortable.

"How's Makoto?"

"Better. She was in a lot better shape than you were the last time I saw her," Rei paused and looked over at Taika. "How did you do that? I mean when you healed her like that. I've seen the wound and it must have been terrible before you fixed it."

"It's a matter of control... It'll be a while before you're ready for things like that, I'm afraid."

Rei smiled wryly. "Figured as much."

While they had been talking, the horizon continued to brighten until, finally, the first rounded piece of that fiery orb broke into view.

Rei sighed deeply and stood up. "Do you think you can make it to school today?"

There was no answer from her companion so, after a minute or two she wandered back inside to get ready on her own. Taika could follow or not.

Once freed from the bounds of the horizon, the sun slid smoothly into the sky, leaving no doubt that the day was there. Taika heaved one last sigh and pulled herself to her feet.

She was already too healed to sleep the day away, and school was no more taxing than being at the shrine all day.

* * *

The stars weren't cooperating. Not exactly a novel experience for Nephrite, but an annoying one, none the less. He was trying to track down this "silver crystal" that Beryl was so set on acquiring, but nothing was showing up in his scrying.

This was the third search he had performed in the last half day and he was still no closer than when he started. Not to mention that it was taking up quite a bit of energy. He turned a dark scowl on one of the many tomes he had found in what was once the Dark Kingdom's Royal Library.

So far, his more mundane searches had found little about the talisman. Some of the history was there, but all before the Dark Kingdom became Dark. All of that was useless now.

Perhaps he was just looking for the wrong thing. A thought occurred to him and he returned to pouring over his tomes looking for any mention of the Crystal.

* * *

Zoicite was not, my any means, the most powerful of the dark generals. He certainly lacked Kunzite's overwhelming power and Nephrite's information gathering and divination. Even Jadeite had outshone him as a leader.

He did, however, have a good bit of skill at espionage. And treason.

His search for the Silver Crystal had gone no better than Nephrite's, though he did have a piece or two of information that Nephrite obviously lacked.

Of course, it was only obvious to him since he had the only copy of said information. He smiled coldly as he took up the book one more time, feeling the smoothness of its ancient cover. A plan was forming itself in his mind even now.

Certainly, whoever tried to get the Crystal would have to face the Senshi first. A fight would certainly ensue and the winner would be weakened. Easy prey for him.

He smiled wider as he cast the spell that would slide the book in amongst the others on Nephrite's desk. He did, after all, have a little magic at his disposal.

* * *

Serenity was somewhat surprised to see Taika at school that day. She'd seen her not twelve hours before and she hadn't been in very good shape. Other than a feeling of fatigue about her and tenderness in her step, she seemed like her old self.

They were standing by the wall, waiting for school to start. Well, Serenity was standing and Taika was leaning. They were currently the only Senshi who had arrived. Even Mercury's punctuality had to make allowances for sleep that Serenity didn't seem to need when there was danger in the air, and Taika had gotten the day before.

"That last attack was brutal," Taika said, wincing slightly as she shifted to relieve one ache that had become particularly annoying. "I haven't been this banged up in... well, it's been a long time."

"That attack was no worse than most," Serenity said, sagely. "You did most of that to yourself and Makoto was careless."

"Yeah, I know, but the girls are having a really hard time of this. I mean, before it was us against this big evil enemy. They get to remember it all. It's Nephrite and Jadeite that they're fighting, and they can remember when they were the good guys."

"I know, but it can't be helped. They're going to have to learn to deal with it. This all might be easier if we hadn't broken the spells holding Jadeite..."

"No, it's a good thing that you did that. Though I've been meaning to tell you something."

"Yeah?"

"Well, when we fought Nephrite a couple days ago... I got a chance to read his aura and it was different. When I looked at Jadeite's, it was a swirling black mist with bits of red and grey in it, but there was a cool blue in the middle. I didn't get to see Nephrite's before that... but it was all black. Even the reds were muted."

"I see... Perhaps Beryl has intensified her spells. That may make it harder to save him."

Taika nodded. "Not to mention more dangerous. But we don't really have a choice in the matter, do we?"

"No," Serenity said, shaking her head gently. "I'm just sorry that we couldn't save our Nephrite. If not for his sake, then for Naru's."

"She turned out all right, didn't she? I mean, she had Umino."

Serenity grinned mischievously. "Yeah, but who has him here?"

"Hey! He's sweet," Taika responded defensively. "Besides, not everyone can get a boyfriend from destiny."

Serenity grinned cutely. "But those are the best kind!"

After that, things degenerated into small talk and then the school day was upon them. Somehow, the universe conspired to give them a quite morning. Not that it wouldn't make up for lost time, in the end.

END


	18. Arc 2 Ch 7: On the Laying of Plans II

Author's notes: The item I'm referring to as the Star Crystal is, indeed, the black crystal (Japanese starts with a k, I believe) that Nephrite and then Zoicite use to try to track down the Silver crystal.

Disclaimer goes here (Sailor Moon).

* * *

The Rebound Effect  
Arc 2: Chapter 7 (formerly Part 18)  
On the Laying of Plans II

* * *

The sun was already setting by the time Nephrite came across the black tome. He didn't remember seeing it the last time he had rummaged through the stack of eldritch references, but he was too tired to think much of it.

He flipped open the cover and began to methodically scan the pages for any reference to crystals, a thing that had, by this point, become almost automatic.

Not more than ten minutes later, he spotted something that jolted him to full alertness.

"Silver Crystal... linked to Star Crystal by ritual... hmm..." he mumbled as he reread the line that had so caught his attention. A Star Crystal? He'd seen mention of it in one of the other texts and if it was linked to the Silver Crystal...

Thoughts of rest were, once again, pushed away as he set to researching with a passion. Maybe this was the lead that would prove the key to finding the Silver Crystal for Queen Beryl.

Of course, that's what he thought the last three times he found "leads" in the old texts.

* * *

Usagi wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of one white gloved hand. "What's about to happen? Level with me."

She was talking to Serenity who was sitting off to the side of the area where the Senshi were training. She looked up at her younger self levelly and asked, "What do you mean? What makes you think something's happening?"

"Well, either something's happening or it's about to happen. We've been out here for three hours already. We usually only train for one."

"So? Maybe we think you're not working hard enough?"

"No, I think you believe we're not ready for whatever's coming next. So why don't you just tell us what's going to happen so we can prepare for it."

Serenity sighed. The problem with being around Usagi was that she knew roughly how she thought. Hiding things from her younger self was becoming more and more difficult. "Do you really believe that would help? Certainly, we know a lot about how the Dark Generals think and what they're likely to do next, but think about it for a moment."

She stood up and faced her younger self. "We're trying to teach you how to handle whatever may happen without knowing in advance. If we tell you everything and you go off and do it the easy way, where does that leave you when the next big crisis comes?" From the look Usagi was giving her, she clearly didn't get it.

"I just..." Serenity turned away from Usagi to hide the indecision that was written on her face. "I had to learn these lessons the hard way, okay? And besides, it's not like everything that happened to us is going to happen to you, right?"

Usagi was more than a little confused by all this. "But didn't you have Luna and Artemis to tell you what was going on most of the time?"

"Yeah... but they usually only knew enough to make matters worse. But you're right. You do deserve to know what's coming up next. Taika and I will work up some specific drills for you tomorrow. Other than that..." she sighed deeply. "I'm really starting to see how Pluto feels sometimes."

"That's fine," Usagi said, nodding. "But what's going on?"

"Ask Taika. She knows the story better than I do."

Usagi shrugged inwardly. "Tomorrow, then?"

"Yes, tomorrow."

* * *

Later that night, Serenity and Taika were in the shrine, practicing on their own. Of course, to anyone else, it would have seemed they were merely sitting across from each other, in meditative positions. In actuality, Serenity was holding Taika's power down as she fought to summon it up.

Serenity, being the most powerful of the Senshi to begin with, had already started the process of hardening her body to the stresses that summoning power placed upon it and was now helping Taika do the same.

Finally, after almost an hour of magical tug-of-war, Taika broke off.

"Whew, this is rough," she said, falling backward to lie on the wooden floor.

"Yes, but you have to get back into shape. You never know when you're going to need your full strength."

"Yeah, yeah, just let me rest for a while first. I'm still sore from the other day."

"And that's a good reason for you to be training, I would think. If you'd been ready, that wouldn't have happened."

"You could have warned me, you know."

"You should have thought of it on your own. And besides, I was busy..."

"Busy goofing off, I bet," Taika's voice was playful as she said it which kept it from being a true barb. "You're really enjoying this aren't you?"

Serenity bristled, but she couldn't hide the ghost of a grin. "Whatever do you mean?"

"This. All of this. Being on the front lines against an enemy and going to the arcade and just hanging out half the time. If I didn't know better, I'd swear you even enjoyed doing homework."

Serenity's grin brightened. "It's just nice to have simple worries for a change. I mean, things here aren't exactly calm or safe, but... when it comes down to it, I'm only really responsible for me. Back home, half of the decisions I made affected millions or even billions of lives."

"That's why I never hung around the palace much. If you give them a chance to hand you responsibility, your life becomes a lot tougher." She sighed and stretched out on the floor, her hands knitted behind her head. "Give me a nice mountain lake with a little shrine beside it and I'm happy."

"I never had much of a choice in the matter," Serenity paused a moment, a new thought occurring to her. "Well, maybe now I do, but not before."

"There's always a choice," Taika yawned widely. "And right now, I'm thinking about choosing bed."

"Yeah, we've got a long day ahead tomorrow... I promised Usagi that we'd begin preparing for the next series of attacks."

Taika pushed herself up onto her elbows. "Are we still assuming that Nephrite's going after the crystal soon?"

Serenity nodded. "If not, then after his next caper or two. It's inevitable. I've got Ami monitoring the carriers of the crystals so that we're alerted the second they begin."

"Shouldn't we just go ahead and grab the crystals before the Nephrite figures it out?"

"No," Serenity said, shaking her head gently. "Removing a crystal requires releasing the youma trapped inside it. We'd only be able to do one at a time, anyway, and someone would figure out what was going on before we could get them all."

"Besides, it's good training for the girls. They're not always going to be able to plan out their battles like this and the more random factors we introduce the better training it will be. It's not like we really have to get the crystals, just keep Beryl's hands off them."

Taika nodded at the logic. "It's still sad that those seven people have to become monsters. I guess it can't be helped, though, if that's the only way to free the crystals." She sighed deeply at this dose of reality. "We've probably got a few day left before it starts. Is a nice quiet week too much to ask?"

"You did grow up in the same place I did, didn't you? And you need to ask that?"

* * *

The entire cathedral was bathed in black light. Not the twisted kind of ultraviolet lamp that some people find pleasant against white cloth, but the opposite of white light. Everything appeared as though on a photographic negative.

Nephrite held himself calmly as he finished the last few words of the summoning he had, more or less, written for himself. For a second, the only effect was a white pulsing of the lines of the octagrams he had etched into the floor and the steady non-light that filled the room.

Then, slowly, real light began to push its way into the edges of the room, forcing the black light to coalesce in the center of his sigils. Finally, after several agonizing moments, the object of his search sprang into being and the sense of power that had, up until then, filled the room faded away.

Nephrite allowed himself a smile of triumph as he took the Star Crystal from the center of the octagrams.

His plans were well under way.

* * *

Serenity spent the most of the rest of the evening distracted. She was trying to figure out exactly how to proceed with things. Certainly, training the girls wouldn't be difficult. They were picking up tactics pretty quickly by this point. As for the other training, Rei and possibly Minako were almost ready to start accessing the second level powers built into their Senshi identities. The others weren't far behind, either.

No, what was worrying her was how this current scenario was going to start. The dates were a bit off in this world, which meant there would be no Princess Dia visit to get things started.

Of course, that might end up being for the best since it would, most likely, keep Naru out of this.

That brought up another point she needed to attend to. Usagi and Naru weren't spending as much time together as they used to. The younger Senshi had a tendency to adopt a kind of club mentality since they spent so much time together, working and training. That association was prone to leaving other people out. People like Naru, unfortunately.

It was unrealistic to expect them to be as close as they once were, but sometimes Usagi had trouble dividing her time amongst her friends equally. Since Naru got along well with almost everyone in the group, it'd probably be a good idea to plan something for all of them after the immediate danger was over.

A picnic would me nice. Youma only attacked picnics about half the time, which was, oddly, a rather low percentage for Senshi attended events.

And it'd be a good chance to spend some time with Endy-chan, as well. He was spending a lot of time working with himself, training and preparing for exams and the like, and Serenity was starting to miss him greatly.

That was the problem with being married to someone for a millennium, you ended up rewriting the definition of "dependant".

_/Who else to invite... hmm... Mamoru, of course, and Taika will want Umino to go along./_ She couldn't resist a slight grin at that last one. Somehow, the thought of Taika and Umino was becoming less humorous as time went on, but it was doing so slowly.

The only reason she didn't laugh out loud was the fact that he seemed to be having a big effect on Taika's emotional well-being. Before, she'd always been... well, she'd always been withdrawn and a bit antisocial.

Now, she was happy again. They'd all grown up too fast the first time around, and were only now getting a chance at a real childhood. Well, if real childhoods normally entailed fighting off wave upon wave of evil beings bent on ruling or destroying the earth.

_/Hmm... I wonder if the Harukas and Michirus would like to come? And bring the Hotarus, too. This might be really fun./_

That part of her mind that was so ecstatic to not have to be serious all the time latched on to planning a picnic and kept her occupied for most of the evening, thoughts of the upcoming battles weren't allowed.

* * *

He didn't remember how he got there. That's how it always was. He'd find himself at this same window every other night, and he still didn't know how he was getting there.

He knew he should go back to the cathedral, he had work to do the next day and he was still exhausted from the last summoning, but he couldn't resist.

After a few minutes of listening, he decided that the room's sole occupant was asleep. Eyes closed, he breathed deeply for a moment, steadying himself.

_/I've got to stop this,/_ he reprimanded himself even as phased past the glass of the window and into the room. _/Why am I here?/_

As every time before, he didn't know the answer. Something drew him here. To this girl. Something powerful.

The logical part of his mind thrashed about for a reason for these irrational visits and finally latched onto something. He raised the Star Crystal and let it hover in the air above her bed.

It twisted around so that the point on one end of its rod shaped body pointed toward her and began to silently pulse with that same black light he had seen earlier.

First, the blankets around her sleeping form seemed to fade away, and then the pajamas. Finally, skin tone and texture blended into a uniform grey and the inside of her body could be seen.

Organs and blood vessels didn't appear. This light was only interested in things of power, not matters of the flesh.

There was nothing there. He bent close to make absolutely certain she wasn't holding the silver crystal, but it wasn't there.

Silently, he cursed himself for a fool and seized the floating crystal. He wasn't coming back here again, he swore as he teleported back to the cathedral.

Of course, that's what he had said every other time he found himself in that room, in the middle of the night.

Through all of this, Makoto slept on.

END

Author's notes: Welcome to the current end of The Rebound Effect. As you probably have picked up by now, this fic is (mostly) an old work (circa '98 for the originals). However, I've recently edited it into the form you see here. Apparently, no one cares, though. Please leave a review if you liked (or didn't like) the fic to this point. A chapter 19 is in the writing (and has been for a very long time). It's about 33% done, judging by the outline I am filling out.

In any case, thanks for reading if you made it this far.


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